Category: Practical

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[winter] Tips for taking care of snow

Every winter, at least those with a lot of snow, we pull out our shovels and get to it. But there are things you can do to make the snow go away faster, and make the job easier…

It goes without saying that removing snow from sidewalks is imperative to keep people safe from falls and make life easier for those pushing strollers, or for old people to get around.  One winter while shoveling my own sidewalk I looked across a street and saw an elderly woman literally stuck at a crosswalk.  There was no way for her to cross as the snow was just too deep. Upon approaching her with my shovel she quickly apologized saying she had to get to the pharmacy.  So I shoveled a path for her to get to the other sidewalk.  It’s just too bad those who lived on those corner lots didn’t take care of this themselves.

So lets get to the tips:

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Helping Cities Grow: What to do.

An important issue for many cities dealing with circumstances initiated by others in the past, like a blighted looking city filled with parking lot scars, etc. From my experience I’ve witnessed many cities do the wrong thing in order to encourage development. The point of this post is, if you do something, it could have a negative impact on your city, so make sure you do the right thing. Continue reading “Helping Cities Grow: What to do.”

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Client Question: How does the permit process work?

On January 1, 2016 at 11:42 PM wrote:

Sorry – still confused. How would the expeditor contact our contractor? They would just give us the permit. So the plans are filed with the asbestos report. The city gives us permits even though work is already done. We show permits and plans to electrician and plumber. They sign off (assuming no issue). Then that goes back to the city and we either get legalized or they ask for site visit?

Is that correct?

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Parental Control for iPhone/iPad, so your child can sleep at night.

Is your child going to bed with their iPhone and/or iPad and texting/chatting with friends when they should be sleeping? Are they just on the device too much during the day, and just won’t put down the device to do something else?  Did you know you can use your Mac (and perhaps your PC) to control the times Wifi is allowed to connect to the device, day and night.

The problem hit home for me when my child kept up another child who’s grades suddenly dropped. She mentioned to me that he was having a hard time at school and was always tired.  Well of course. So despite my efforts to make her understand that texting in the middle of the night might hurt her and others, I was put in a position of having to take direct action and control of the situation which had quickly got out of hand.

With the following simple step-by-step instructions, one can set time limits on a daily basis as to when all your devices can connect to the internet, thus making time for other activities, like running, jumping, laughing and family time. You’ll be able to control school night times and weekend times, giving you back the control any parent should always have. Gone are the arguments, the pleading and the rest, resulting in a new reality of a child having to think of something else to do to occupy their time.  Watch how quickly that bedroom gets cleaned up, their willingness to ‘hang out’, etc…

Continue reading “Parental Control for iPhone/iPad, so your child can sleep at night.”

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[financial] Go ahead, throw your money away! (Expensive Blunder)

What do I mean by designs that are a waste?  Well, some projects waste time, money and resources.  One can imagine a project that isn’t financially successful, has wasted resources, as the longevity and usefulness of the building will be diminished.  I’ve witnessed where a renovation is completed and in 2 years, after the tenant moves out the space is re-renovated. Materials are wasted too, in this day when there are environmental concerns, what’s the point of designing and building something that gets torn down in a couple of years? Continue reading “[financial] Go ahead, throw your money away! (Expensive Blunder)”

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