Other distractions

[stripperguy]

At all of my positions at MTI (17 years worth) I was a leader/supervisor/manager.
Eventually, MTI went into a death spiral, and a few engineers and I decided that we could do better on our own, so we quit MTI and formed Mohawk Innovative Technology Inc
I cofounded that business and was responsible for all mechanical designs and all laboratory testing.
Jumping back a bit, in my teens I worked with a masonry crew for a summer, and then with a framing crew the following summer. MDB and I built our first house when we were 20 years old.

So to answer your question, my lot in life was a combination of luck, education, experience and a can do attitude, with attitude being the most important factor.

[Viking]

WOW is all I can say. You literally have done more than almost everyone I know.

You know those aptitude tests they gave in school to chart your career path, where you would have an image with 6 gears and they asked if you rotated the one on the left counter-clockwise, which direction would the last one rotate? Never got that one right once. And it was 50/50 chance. Even better, I worked for a contractor one summer, and the owner, making his point in his normal way, climbed off scaffolding to see if I had 16" hashmarks on my tape. I mean, I suck at this so people like you blow me away.

Doing some binging now with wife and daughter but I'll have some more questions. And don't feel obligated to spend time on this - you've got enough on your hands. I just remember that earlier email where I had to check all this out.

Great nite sir, and thank you.

[stripperguy]

Viking,
I have several axioms that I’ve developed along the way, as far as I know they’re mine.

The key to life is to find your natural talent and passion, then find a way to cash in on it.

Anything worth having is worth suffering for.

Its good to be hungry.

Most folks spend the first half of their lives ignoring their health, and the second half reminded of it.


Good luck to you and any here that care to consider those axioms.

Mike T

[Viking]

Morning stripperguy,

House exterior stuff -

First, love the color scheme - I have the same colors on mine.
I am assuming you are doing a huge percentage of the work yourself - maybe all of it. Exterior wise, how much of that is your handiwork?
How big is the barn/shop? Looks like decent size.

House interior stuff -

What is the ceiling height in the bedroom shot? Dig the trayed ceilings. How deep is the tray?
Dining room - love trays again. What is the design above the table? Are those 10' ceilings? Is the entire house 10' ceilings?

[stripperguy]

Let’s see…
we subbed out the foundation, framing, roofing, insulation, drywall as well as the siding.
I can do all of that, but not as quickly as the subs, and MDB and I were busy with rental property stuff during much of the construction.
I did just finish the back porch, decking, knee walls, siding, trim, screening, railings, skirting.
Inside, I did all the trim including the coffered ceiling in the dining room.
Ceilings are 9ft, with tray in bedroom 1 ft taller x 2 ft wide, 1 ft tray in dining room too, with the coffee added after drywall.
Detached garage is 30 x 40 feet, with one overhead door specifically designed to fit the motorhome that we sold before the garage was even finished! Oops.