Years ago there was a famous movie called Night of the Iguana. It was first a Tennessee Williams play that became a movie and it took place in Mexico in the 1940's. Richard Burton was a priest in the movie that went on to win an oscar for costumes. My wife and I have been in tropical southern Mex
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01/25/2012
My wife often tells me that I am in hot water. Actually, in most cases, that is an expression that refers to my poor behavior versus anything to do with water. However, in the course of doing home inspections in Bellingham and Whatcom county, I often find water heaters that are set too hot -- the
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01/24/2012
One issue, often found to be present during the course of a home inspection, is perimeter pavement or soil that slopes toward the home. Here in the northwest, more often than not, houses have crawl spaces and not basements. I have even seen soil or pavement slope directly toward a crawl space ve
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01/21/2012
Assessing the adequacy of water pressure, among residents of a home, is often a case of perspective. I have seen people, used to a well system out in rural Bellingham or Whatcom county, move into a city home that had marginal pressure, per city standards, and they were thrilled. Other times, I ha
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01/17/2012
My friend Curtis Brown, of Curtis C Home Inspections, is not only a competent and an excellent home inspector, whom I often recommend to others, but he is, also, a wonderful photographer. Curtis loves to shoot (with his camera of course) birds. I have, with his permission, used his excellent bal
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01/12/2012
I was online reading a news story about how many people found 2011 to be one of the worst years of their lives -- unemployment, no money, the usual things reported these days. One person interviewed referred to last year as shared misery. It made me grateful to have my niche here in Whatcom Count
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01/01/2012
I want to wish all of my Active Rain friends -- internationally, nationally, statewide and locally -- a great Christmas. As I write this post, we have a really windy day here. I am hoping that the power does not go out. I am so glad I no longer am involved in being an engineer in radio, wind ofte
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12/25/2011
The first Billboard Top 40 Charts of the rock era emerged in 1955 when the Bill Haley classic "Rock Around the Clock" hit #1. Anyone who is into the era, and the evolution of the music, knows that rock 'n' roll was a derivative of the soul and gospel music that was created and popular with Africa
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12/25/2011
It is my goal, at a home inspection, to try to look at all components and systems. That not only earns me repeat business from clients and agents, but it provides some insulation against potential client complaints. Logic prevails: The more you see the less important stuff you miss. It is not pos
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12/25/2011
Recently, as the weather has gotten colder, I did an inspection on a cold day -- at least it was cold based on our wimpy Pacific Northwest standards. It was 28 degrees F. At first, I thought that someone had left the garage door to the outside ajar or open. On closer examination, the fit of the d
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12/22/2011
