On Mar 18, 2:42 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

SNIP

There may be something else, but oil not only as a feed stock, but
also as
an energy source have a major impact.

Sorry, Lew. But you have been outvoted.

The Combined Brain Trust of West Avenue Ice House (now with pool and
darts!) has voted, and we are getting the sausage.

Members of the trust include participants from the brick laying
community, as well as roofers, plumbers and even a painter. The
painter isn't usually sober enough to participate in our problem
solving sessions, but he was lucid until a good two hours into the
meeting this last time.

Before you dismiss this, all manner of pertinent facts were examined
at great length by the trust will many members not even in the
construction community adding their commentary as we went along. It
wasn't always on topic, but we didn't want to exclude any potentially
valuable information for future subjects.

No, I don't remember the exact details, but after the last meeting I
would bet none of the other members remember much, either. It was
a.... ahem... "busy" meeting with the Spurs playing on the big screen
and all.

But, ask ANY construction worker, contractor or vendor and they will
gladly tell you the same thing.

We're gettin' screwed, and that's that.

;^)

BTW, we don't keep the minutes, but about a month ago we peered into
the mystery of mortgage crisis, and we pulled back the curtains on
that as well!

VBG

Robert

wrote

The Combined Brain Trust of West Avenue Ice House (now with pool and
darts!) has voted, and we are getting the sausage.

Members of the trust include participants from the brick laying
community, as well as roofers, plumbers and even a painter. The
painter isn't usually sober enough to participate in our problem
solving sessions, but he was lucid until a good two hours into the
meeting this last time.

With that, you're credibility went up a dozen notches! What is it about
painters that they must have a 12 pack of Bud Lite in the van?

We're gettin' screwed, and that's that.

;^)

BTW, we don't keep the minutes, but about a month ago we peered into
the mystery of mortgage crisis, and we pulled back the curtains on
that as well!

VBG

Must be raining in "dirty SA" today, eh?

Same here ... another day, another layer of mud on wood floors yet without
paint. But. I did get the flatwork done this past Saturday, which usually
means less of it.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/8/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Mar 18, 3:46 pm, "Swingman" wrote:

With that, you're credibility went up a dozen notches! What is it about
painters that they must have a 12 pack of Bud Lite in the van?

I don't know, but it is a requirement of the trade, that's for sure.
One thing I always admire about the painters, though. When they are
having a bad morning and all of them are bitching a blue streak at
each other, they always manage to clear things up at lunch and come
back in a good mood and ready to work. Hey... wait a minute...

Must be raining in "dirty SA" today, eh?

Yeah. Sadly. It isn't enough to do any good for us as we are already
in drought conditions. It has just been ****ing all day, nothing of
consequence, just enough to keep us all inside.

Same here ... another day, another layer of mud on wood floors yet without
paint. But. I did get the flatwork done this past Saturday, which usually
means less of it.

Looking at the radar, you guys are getting real rain and will probably
get more actual "rain". We got squat. Wet streets and a little mud
in the yards, that's it.

It has done this off and on for several days now, and I am really
ready for a break.

Robert

wrote:
....
It has done this off and on for several days now, and I am really
ready for a break.

I'd give most anything for a shot at that much....we got 0.08" and now
back to 30mph winds to be nearly 80F by tomorrow. And that was our 80%
probability chance...

--

On Mar 17, 8:37 pm, Kevin M. Vernon
wrote:
"Leon" wrote:

"BDBConstruction" wrote in message
...
As most of you are well aware I am an anti-borg to say the least. Well
here is the latest I found out today. Local lumberyard tells me that
they are getting a lot of people saying they are out of line with
regard to pricing on 250' boxes of 12-2 romex. Salesman calls a fellow
salesman at the borg and says "wtf is up with this"? Borg salesman
replies, "ahhh, hehe, you don't realize that corporate changed all our
wire to 200' boxes instead of 250' ". The new packaging minimally
mentions the footage in the box as opposed to the old packaging.

This of course goes along with Kellogs putting a couple ounces less
ceral in the same box for the same price, Lays and other chip makers
doing the same for chips, and so on. These minimal reductions (not to
say that 50' of wire is minimal) of course add up to millions of
dollars across the nation. Whats odd is why there would not be a
notice posted in the wire isle telling the guy who figured a job for
750' of wire that he now needs 4 boxes instead of the three he has
bought for the last 35 years.

Well getting less food is probably a good thing. We all probably need to
eat less.
As for the Borg pricing in Houston, the Borg has just about always been the
highest place to buy. Same items at the local hard ware store are less
expensive.
The Borg is convenient, and that is its only value IMHO.

Simple Marketing. Most people will notice a price change, MUCH
quicker than they will notice a quantity change. Which means a
quantity change will have less impact on sales than a price change.
Which, ultimately, makes it a much more desireable way to raise
prices, for a bean-counter with his eye on the bottom line.

Nobody ever went broke by understimating the stupidity of the average
consumer.

-Kevin in Indy - who's got an Orange Borg & Green Borg within 2 miles
- Woodcraft & 84 Lumber, 3 miles, Blue Borg, 4 miles, Harbor Freight &
Rockler 5 miles, Sears Hardware & Ace Hardware, 6 miles. I think I'm
about to be assimilated.
To reply, remove (+spamproof+) from address........



ever get to see a paycheck?

shelly

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:01:08 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

Looking at the radar, you guys are getting real rain and will probably
get more actual "rain". We got squat. Wet streets and a little mud
in the yards, that's it.

Here it has been raining since at the end of St Patty's day, 2" so far
another 2" to come according to the weather forecast. The island in
the lake behind us is about submerged. So be careful what you ask for.
My wife asked for rain to avoid seeing someone.

Mark

"Markem" wrote

Here it has been raining since at the end of St Patty's day, 2" so far
another 2" to come according to the weather forecast. The island in
the lake behind us is about submerged. So be careful what you ask for.
My wife asked for rain to avoid seeing someone.

Mark

Rain? I remember rain. It rained here a couple years ago.

Max (in El Paso)

Don't you know the cat food has catnip in it. And the can was specially
designed for the new Green concept as it will rust faster! Thus reducing
waste in the landfill. ROFL.

Rebus


Do you ever check their arithmetic? Sometimes the unit pricing
is wildly off, like catfood at $50.00/oz.

And some cats still would turn their nose up at it and then
go lick their butts.

--

FF

On Mar 17, 7:33*pm, BDBConstruction wrote:
As most of you are well aware I am an anti-borg to say the least. Well
here is the latest I found out today. Local lumberyard tells me that
they are getting a lot of people saying they are out of line with
regard to pricing on 250' boxes of 12-2 romex. Salesman calls a fellow
salesman at the borg and says "wtf is up with this"? *Borg salesman
replies, "ahhh, hehe, you don't realize that corporate changed all our
wire to 200' boxes instead of 250' ". The new packaging minimally
mentions the footage in the box as opposed to the old packaging.

This of course goes along with Kellogs putting a couple ounces less
ceral in the same box for the same price, Lays and other chip makers
doing the same for chips, and so on. These minimal reductions (not to
say that 50' of wire is minimal) of course add up to millions of
dollars across the nation. Whats odd is why there would not be a
notice posted in the wire isle telling the guy who figured a job for
750' of wire that he now needs 4 boxes instead of the three he has
bought for the last 35 years.

Yet we still question,
Mark

So I was out all day today after material and went in the direction of
the wire so did a little checking. I additionally talked with the VP
of our elect. supply and got some info.

So they are infact selling 200'ers though at this point it is only at
a couple locations. The price is competetive with my local lumberyard
(they backdoor electrical products anyway) but higher than what I pay
from the elect. supply. Of course the most general complaint in the
biz is that they are doing this in an attempt to simply doop people
with a lower price in the isle. The 200's are not out on a pallet with
any signag, they are in the pallet rack where 250's would be. Of
course the drone had no idea why they had 200's vs. 250's other than
"thats what came in".

Now, in their defense, the VP at the elect. supply gave me some info
that this has happened in the past but with HD instead of Lowes. He
said it was an utter disaster and they wound up stuck with a lot of
wire waiting for it to sell retail as no one in the trade wanted it.
He said that no one ever got a clear answer as to wether it was an
attempt at trickery or perhaps they got a deal on a bunch of odd cuts
or something though it was pretty much agreed that with them all being
packaged 200's it just didnt seem like it was a batch of odd lots.

I was not under any dillusion that there would be some clear answer it
is/was just another indicator (for me) that these guys have no
interest in playing by the rules, customer service, serving the
industry, and so on. One plus around here at least is that the big
boxes have pretty much given up persuing contractors. Many of them
have dropped all their outside sales taking on the mentality that why
should they pay to get business when contractors should just come to
them. Their margins are higher on retail, though that business has
slowed drastically for them here.

Time will tell...
Mark

"BDBConstruction" wrote:

So I was out all day today after material and went in the direction of
the wire so did a little checking. I additionally talked with the VP
of our elect. supply and got some info.

As the CB lingo goes, "What's your 20?"

Lew

On Mar 18, 12:42*pm, "
wrote:
On Mar 17, 9:07 pm, BDBConstruction wrote:

SNIP

This would be like you going to a rack of plywood and because it
doesnt say 4x8 on it, you get it home only to put your tape on it and
have it measure 45" x 93". The same would be true, buyer beware.

I understand what you are saying to some extent. *But on the other
hand, the rule of the land has been "caveat emptor" in all dealings
since I can remember. *I don't buy anything for a job without checking
out everything along the way as I make my order up. *For example, I
have two roofs with all the goodies to install in the next couple of
weeks.

I called my shingle vendor when bidding them, and found that not only
did we have a price increases in December, February and March, but we
are face with another from the manufacturer in April. *I have dealt
with these guys for literally 15 years, and none of us has ever seen
the kind of profiteering going on right now.

But do they call me and say, "hey Robert, we are not going to carry
the Elk High Point Ridge vent, we are going to another that is more
expensive." *Do they call me when their fuel surcharge goes up? *No.
Does my local paint dealer call me when paint goes up? *No. *Do they
me and every other of their thousand contractors in their list of
clients when they modify or change their delivery charge? *No.

I look at it this way. *It is my money going out on a job. *Period.
It is my responsibility to make sure it is protected; most likely I
won't get anything more than a sigh from my clients when I tell them
prices went up from the time I bid and the signed to the time work
starts. *So I do the best I can, knowing I might take a little in the
shorts. *But the point being, I do my homework up front and try not to
take anything for granted.

I understand your burning and obvious hatred of HD. *I do. *Most of
the time they are of little or no use to me as a contractor. *But they
have a job to do as well, and none of us really know if their
marketing department didn't find in their research that all of these
people in the TV inspired home improvement wave didn't need the 250',
but would be fine with 200'. *I don't know. *I really don't care.

I think repackaging is part of marketing, and no retailer will shy
away from a chance to make more money. *Being a contractor has made me
a better shopper everywhere, as I use the same techniques for personal
purchases that I do for my business. *The first rule of course, is not
to take anything for granted when gathering prices.

In the face of the onslaught of hard competition from the big boxes,
my local hardware stores and lumber yards started playing stink finger
LONG before the big boxes.
I thought that "my boys" down at the local lumberyard would have lower
costs on things because the didn't have the overhead, didn't have to
pay any of the employees health insurance unless they were full time,
and they didn't have an advertising budget. *Wrong.

I even paid more to them when I knew I was paying too much since I
wanted to keep the money local, and I did get a little bit better
service from them. *But when I started paying waaay too much to them,
how could I justify it. *So that they could keep their margins up to
the levels they had when they were the only game in town, they started
selling smaller boxes of nails, off brands of different staple items
like caulk and sealers, and a lot of different off shore stuff began
to sneak into the tool corral.

And if something breaks at HD, you take it back, and you are taken
care of. *If it breaks that local lumberyard, they don't want to RTV
it, so they can make it a little harder. *The manager of the hardware
store used to tell me, "awww come on... it's just Chinese crap and you
knew it when you bought it. *How long did you think it would last?"

Now I am careful and suspicious with all of my purchases. *I ask what
size a product is, I ask what amount is in the package, and I ask for
any price increases that might be in effect soon.

Just a few thoughts. *Like I said, I understand what you are saying,
but there isn't a damn thing we can do about all of this but to be
aware of more and more aggressive marketing to get our dollars. *So
indeed, it is up to all of us to be savvy consumers on point all the
time. *A screwing will happen from time to time no matter what we do.
But if a box is marked in plain view, I don't know other than telling
someone how much wire is in a box (in writing) they purchase what a
retailer can do.

The surprise sure isn't pleasant, though.

Just my 0.02.

Robert

Robert,
There is a lot of info here and I wont try to give my .02 on all of it
making an already long thread longer.

There is a line that a customer once said to me many years ago
(perhaps 10 or more) that I have posted here many times. She was a
great customer, very high end, custom everything, really appreciated
attention to detail (our mantra). We got into a conversation about big
boxes, walmart, etc. regarding their effect on local and global
economies, corporate and consumer mentality, the environment, overall
product quality, and so on. After a long fairly pleasant conversation
in which she agreed with most of the negative aspects of these places,
she said (and I quote) "Look, the bottom line is, I want WHAT I want,
WHEN I want it, at the cheapest price, no matter what the cost". The
cost part is not dollar cost, she meant she didnt care how many rivers
in china flowed mercury laiden, how many of the local businesses went
down, she almost inimated that if, as a side effect of it all, she
would no longer have access to the quality goods she loved, so be it.

I deemed this "the shrinking circle" meaning the average US consumer
doesnt care/act until disaster is imminently breaching thier comfort
circle. This circle use to encapsulate your town, local factories, the
mill in the next town over, your country, etc.. Now the circle is
within the four walls of your home. Until a husband, son, mother,
father, daugher, etc. is directly impacted most dont care. Well, not
surprisingly her husband was a high level excec. at a large company
that eventually was affected by the whole process. We had left the
area by then so I do not know what her position was after all that.

This, to me, relates directly to your comments about HD taking
returns. Its a short sighted positive for the customer due to the
simple fact that all the aforementioned retailers directly force
vendors to reduce quality to gain any price reductions possible. This
would be fine if the retailer held the perspective that because they
specified said quality reductions they (the retailer) are responsible
for customer dissatisfaction. This couldnt be farther from the case.
Coupled with forcing manufacturers to reduce quality to meet price
points, they also force many of them to blanketly accept any and all
returns. This goes to the extreme of Stanley having to take back roof
nailers contractors bought to shoot a roof in a busy patch, then
return when the job's done. Boxes returned to the vendor empty or
filled with junk. On an on. This is why most everything you open now
has a sheet right on top saying "Do not return this to the place of
purchase before calling 1-800-***" The vendors are now in damage
control trying to reduce returned goods. The Freemarketeers out there
will say if the manufacturer doesnt like it dont sell to them.
Statements like that are utterly naieve, uninformed, and reactionary.
The "cost" of this business model is massive on US and international
companies and economies.

When the market share of these places is so high that manufacturers
start reducing quality in their overal product lines because they cant
afford to have a BORG line and a quality line it voids the statements
made in other replies saying "Hey, if you dont like these places dont
shop there". I dont shop there, however, their business model is
directly affecting my operations outside of their business. This
doesnt even take into consieration the work one has to do as a
contractor trying to explain to customers why you dont deal with these
places and wont stand behind any products that come from these places.

To wrap up my "brief" reply (haha) as has be stated location has
everything to do with your suppliers. Our lumberyard sounds markedly
better than yours yet it is not as good as the one we left behind in
MA. They do call and give me heads up when pricing is about to change.
Though I often times think they do this as an attempt to get you to
buy out of fear rather than neccessity. Though our lumberyard is
adding fuel surcharges, trade deliveries are free, and the fuel
surcharges are modest. The service is head and shoulders above what
any BORG could dream of providing, product selection (on the shelf) is
less but its all at the warehouse, product quality is higher for now.
Its a no brainer for me.


Mark

On Mar 19, 7:47 pm, BDBConstruction wrote:

SNIP

To wrap up my "brief" reply (haha) as has be stated location has
everything to do with your suppliers. Our lumberyard sounds markedly
better than yours

I have no doubt.

It may sound strange Mark, but I agree with your point of view on
almost everything you posted. And I have the things you post about HD
to be true as well.

Reading your post, I think I see where we differ on our points of
view. The really big fight started here when Builder's Square opened
up in the early 80s or so here. As my hometown was the site of their
corporate office, they were everywhere. I mean all over the place.
And while there were other big boxes other cities, this was the first
one here.

They absolutely scared the hell out of every retailer/vendor/supplier
in the construction business as they supplied goods to all of South
Texas.

To simplify and make a long story short, our local lumber guys
panicked and raced to find products that would be price competitive.
I didn't go to BS at the time as I couldn't wrap my brain around
buying wood off a rack in a warehouse store that was stored next to
wallpaper. All of us "pros" got a good laugh at some of the things we
heard. Our local yards were pretty good, and we weren't changing as
we all "had a guy" at the local yards we liked, and that was that.
Besides, my favorite yard had a giant coffee urn that was always full
on cold mornings.

But as our local yard owners were finding it harder and harder to
maintain their hunting leases, their duck hunting leases, their
basketball season tickets (or box!), new custom trucks every other
years, their second home at the coast and their getaway home in the
hill country, and to keep on employing their family members, they had
decisions to make.

When they had the whole market, it was actually better. Materials
cost a lot more, but they stood behind their product. Their service
came at a premium, but I figured that in the end it would save me
money on the job to have materials delivered on time and in good
condition. But they got worried about that bottom line and decided to
make some changes to bring their profit margins back in to line with
the old days of non competition.

So they cut back staff which hurt their service. They cut back
quality of items that cost more than at BS to maintain their market
share. So now we have less service and lower quality goods.

In my talks with the owner of the stores, I remember telling him,
"look, I can get crappy service and poor products anywhere. Why would
I spend money with
your when I have to pay more to get it?"

I was ready, willing, and able to pay more to get what I wanted, but
no willing to pay more to get less. As the battle raged on between BS
and our local lumberyards, Home Depot moved in, and it got better.
One would think that with all that competition things would get
better, but as cuts continued, things got worse. And to compound it
all, there were just not enough people with any product knowledge to
even man a department in those big boxes, much less wait on
customers. So they offered some of the old hands in the local yards
good pay, flexible hours, and even health insurance.

Now everything in Robert's world is starting to collapse.
Everywhere I went I got bad service, crappy products, and not a soul
anywhere with product knowledge. I remember having a conversation
with a young man at the lumber desk and receiving his careful
explanation that an 8' 2X4 is 8 bf, and a 14' 2X4 is 14 bf, and on and
on at my local yard (previously my favorite)..

As things went on, things got worse. BS was ****ed off they couldn't
even be #1 in their own home town, much less anywhere else. HD
relished that, and we literally got deals on things like compressor/
nailer packages that were nowhere else except in this market from
them. They were killing each other for the market. Then, along came
Lowe's..

The upshot is that ALL of them taught me the same lessons about 20
years ago.

- Don't trust any of them at all
- Don't rely on them to take care of your business interests
- Don't rely on them to keep their word. Pound them hard to make them
keep it
- Always check pricing by brand, quality line, and quantity
- Always ask, "are there any more charges on this?"
- If you forget any of the above, you will regret it

I applaud all of those that can sing the praises of fine relationships
with multiple vendors. I remember those days in the distant past. I
remember picking up the phone and ordering a few squares of shingles,
a half a lift of 2X4s, 20 gallons of paint, etc., and it would be
delivered as promised. In those days, while I was aware of market
pricing, I NEVER shopped. What I really wanted was the service.

I guess where all that has taken me is to a very cynical place. I
don't trust any of these guys on any level. It makes it much harder
to do business, but actually don't have any options.

Ahhhh..... for the good old days. I still remember when we thought
Builder's Square etc., would go out of business. Not be the last man
standing.

Robert

wrote:


It may sound strange Mark, but I agree with your point of view on
almost everything you posted. And I have the things you post about HD
to be true as well.


SFWIW, it appears home building prices in SoCal have dropped 20% this month.

Plenty of framing lumber and drywall in stock.

Lumber yards are calling contractors looking for business.

Even labor rates are dropping.

Beats picking up splinters riding the bench.

Learned a new term tonight.

Seems the rain in San Antonio is being called "Orange Rain" right now.

Combination of rain and mud.

Learn something every day.

Lew

On Mar 19, 11:50 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

Learned a new term tonight.

Seems the rain in San Antonio is being called "Orange Rain" right now.

Combination of rain and mud.

Learn something every day.

True story! I was driving home last night and I thought it was muddy
splash from cars in traffic. You know, the stuff you get when you are
behind a car on slick dirty streets at high speeds.

But it just mess on the windshield just got bigger and nastier. It
rained like that for about an hour and a half, maybe more. Lots of
orange cars and trucks today!

It is supposed to be a mix of dust blown in from West Texas and Mexico
carried aloft by really high winds that is being pulled out of the air
by rain. Whatever it is, it is so fine it is like talcum powder.

And it is EVERYWHERE.

Robert

wrote

It is supposed to be a mix of dust blown in from West Texas and Mexico
carried aloft by really high winds that is being pulled out of the air
by rain. Whatever it is, it is so fine it is like talcum powder.

And it is EVERYWHERE.

Also noticed a bit of it yesterday morning on my truck here in Houston

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 3/8/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Mar 19, 9:06*pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"BDBConstruction" wrote:
So I was out all day today after material and went in the direction of

the wire so did a little checking. I additionally talked with the VP
of our elect. supply and got some info.

As the CB lingo goes, "What's your 20?"

Lew

WV

Ya shoulda been in "beautiful downtown Big Spring" in the late 50's early
60's.... Constant "Red Outs" and we prayed for rain to keep the dust down
:))


wrote in message
...
On Mar 19, 11:50 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

Learned a new term tonight.

Seems the rain in San Antonio is being called "Orange Rain" right now.

Combination of rain and mud.

Learn something every day.

True story! I was driving home last night and I thought it was muddy
splash from cars in traffic. You know, the stuff you get when you are
behind a car on slick dirty streets at high speeds.

But it just mess on the windshield just got bigger and nastier. It
rained like that for about an hour and a half, maybe more. Lots of
orange cars and trucks today!

It is supposed to be a mix of dust blown in from West Texas and Mexico
carried aloft by really high winds that is being pulled out of the air
by rain. Whatever it is, it is so fine it is like talcum powder.

And it is EVERYWHERE.

Robert

On Mar 20, 12:57*am, "
wrote:
snip
Ahhhh..... for the good old days. *I still remember when we thought
Builder's Square etc., would go out of business. *Not be the last man
standing.

Robert

Great post Robert, not to say I enjoyed reading you misery...

I guess we have just been lucky perhaps in location and who knows what
else but we have maintained a fairly good relationship with most all
of our suppliers. That is not to say that we blanketly trust them
though I have been known to slip at times. I simply dont have the
hours in the day to track an procure every item we need from a half a
dozen, or more, daily sources. I need to be able to rely on a supplier
even if only a little. If I had to I think I would be seriously
condisering something different. At least for me, there just isnt
enough money in the homebuilding business to do 4-5 hours of phone/
paper work each day on top of 8 hours of time "in the work" and I
refuse to run around all day with a cell phone clipped to my ear.

We have yet to be affected by a lumberyard that is sacrificing itself
to maintain its beach house, boats, and so on, but again, luck I am
sure. Our current main yard does suffer from a lack of knowledgable
staff and understaffing but they are trying. I think cynicizm in the
building industry is a hard thing to avoid unless its just not a part
of your personality or you are fortunate enough to be established in
an extremely high end market. We have always been closer to the high
end though we often have a foot up to the ankle in the pond water. As
long as it doesnt go over the top of my boot I am able to deal with
it.

All this said, my greater concern with regards to this drum I beat is
for the global consumer, and perhaps wondering where consumer
conscience has gone. Back to that shrinking circle thing. I wish I
could just throw it all up to the market and the "it'll figure itself
out" thing. I look at what has happened in the past 15 or so years and
it sure seems to me that we havent been doing ourselves any long term
favors regardless of the little boom. The overall long term progress
doesnt seem to me to be positive by most indicators.

One bright note, for the short term, I saw on the news was this
economic crunch is already starting to brighten the horizon. Many
companies, due to the weak dollar, are already moving manufacturing
production to the US to take advantage of that weak dollar. BMW was
noted to be moving a substantial portion of manufacturing, not just
for US sales, over here to the US. Downside is, I assume that moving
this production indicates that these companies forecast the dollar
being weak for a substantial period of time.

Mark

wrote

True story! I was driving home last night and I thought it was muddy
splash from cars in traffic. You know, the stuff you get when you are
behind a car on slick dirty streets at high speeds.

But it just mess on the windshield just got bigger and nastier. It
rained like that for about an hour and a half, maybe more. Lots of
orange cars and trucks today!

It is supposed to be a mix of dust blown in from West Texas and Mexico
carried aloft by really high winds that is being pulled out of the air
by rain. Whatever it is, it is so fine it is like talcum powder.

And it is EVERYWHERE.

Robert

We occasionally have some rain here in El Paso but most often it's
"mudballs".

Max

In article ,
Tom Watson wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 16:37:03 +0000, LRod
wrote:

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:19:12 -0700 (PDT), Fred the Red Shirt
wrote:


And some cats still would turn their nose up at it and then
go lick their butts.

Kind of raises the question of how good tasting does the food really
have to be?


This could start a whole new marketing concept in the pet food
industry.

"NEW AND IMPROVED! - TASTES LIKE ASS!"


You're no marketeer, are you?

"Feed your beloved pets the CAT-ASS TROPHY meal!"

"Robert Bonomi" wrote:

You're no marketeer, are you?

"Feed your beloved pets the CAT-ASS TROPHY meal!"


Don't have a clue, but if you are looking for a cat, check my tires.

Lew