kaizen
what's been floating my boat lately:
  • nothing

    • "How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think."
    -Hitler-
    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
    -Albert Einstein-

    4/10/26 (22:13)

  • Some days it's just better to not get out of bed.
  • Finished up 3 big jobs this week. We only have one big job left so of course I'm worried about keeping the guys busy. We have one fewer guy, though, so maybe that's good. My most problematic employee for the last 6 years has been Edwin. He's a refugee from Guatemala who refuses to learn about 90% of what I teach him, causes drama in the crew, and is a general pain in the ass. On the other hand, I can tell him to do whatever annoying job I want and he will do it. He shows up on time 99% of the time. He has 3 kids and was homeless the last time I fired him. So, I've kept him around lately so he can get back on his feet. Lent him $5k for first, last, and security deposit on a new apartment, etc. I've basically been the guy's best friend for the last year.
  • At any rate, his nephew is 18 and was looking for work. He knows nothing. His dad is a painter, but he doesn't have any skills to speak of. I kept him around for a few months. Last weekend I told him and Edwin that I was tired of them fucking things up and that I wasn't going to give anymore warnings. Last night I told the kid I don't have any work for him tomorrow. He asked if it was because of work problems and I said yes. Back and forth...he's pleading for more work so he can pay off his car that he wrecked a few weeks ago, I tell him I'll give him work next week if things are busy, etc. Finally he starts talking shit about one of my other guys (Jesus) saying that he sleeps on the job, etc. Long story, short, he won't be working with us anymore and Edwin is next up.
  • Today I get to the job 15 minutes after they're supposed to start and Edwin is in his car. I ask why he's not working and he tells me he asked Jesus what he should do and Jesus told him I don't know, do whatever. Edwin is there to help Jesus, but Jesus doesn't want his help and is being immature about it. So I have to mediate that bullshit for 10 minutes. I point out that Jesus needs to be professional and get Edwin to help him because two guys is faster than one guy, especially for the electrical work they were going to be doing. I point out to Edwin that there's plenty of trash that needs to be cleaned up and he should know to at least do that before going to his car to cry.
  • This is exactly the kind of petty bullshit I try to not have in my life. I need to talk to Edwin (again) and tell him he needs to find another job. I don't want him living on the street, but 6 years (the last two of which has been off/on) is enough to know that I can't keep this guy around. When he's at his best then he is an average employee and it's fine. When he's at anything less than his best then the problems start.
  • New employee is great. Positive attitude and knows a lot. Problem is that he's probably too good and will be working for himself in a year (or less). He was making $36/hr at his old job and they couldn't keep him busy. I found him through a subcontractor of mine and offered him work. I pay him $41.25 and he still won't stay with me 5 days a week. He'll work a week for me and then 2 days the next week and then take 3 weeks off. He has plenty of side projects that pay more so it is what it is. I could give him an ultimatum, I guess, but I don't want to do that. Strategically the best move would be to give an ultimatum that you have to work 5 days a week with me or zero. Give him the 401k, sick days, etc. and my best rate. Then he needs to decide if doing unpermitted, unlicensed work that is inconsistent (but for himself so he can charge more) is better than my offer. Somehow that doesn't seem nice though.
  • Sometimes I think I'm a nice guy and other times I think I'm just an asshole. There's a reason I have like 2 friends after all.
  • Pretty much all of my favorite musical acts are groups, not individuals. For a long time I've cited the Beatles and Led Zeppelin as my two favorites and that's probably still the case. Beatles definitely. At any rate, any other musical act on the list is probably a group. I have to go outside of my top ten until I get to an individual like Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, Neil Young. Whereas other people seem attracted primarily to individual musicians. Zoe, for example, probably has 8 of her top 10 as individuals vs. groups.
  • In a 365 day period the Beatles released Help!, Rubber Soul and Revolver. They started releasing albums at age 20-22 and ended their time together by the time they were 26-29. It's amazing how dumb most 20-something year olds are, yet so much great art (especially music) seems to have come from that age cohort.
  • We went to see Dave Chappelle at the Chase Center a few weeks back. Turned into a concert/comedy show. He puts on a good show. Bill Burr was there. A bunch of bay area artist like Too Short and E-40 were there. Pretty good show overall. One thing that stood out was when he was doing his routine he said that some people claim he's racist. He said something like "I don't hate white people, I'm just tired of y'all." Pretty sad when Dave Chappelle is saying stuff like that. It's not poking fun of differences or making a joke about how odd white people are...those are all fair game and can be humorous (especially with him). But to say that you're just tired of a race is a pretty sad statement. It's also EXACTLY what a lot of racists on youtube say about black people. They call it "fatigue." Here's a recent example. Video shows a compilation of black people robbing, etc. and the comments are "the fatigue is real" or "usual suspects" or "dark times we're in." These are all thinly veiled racist comments about black people. So, it was pretty sad and disconcerting to see someone like Dave Chappelle express the exact same emotion about whites as youtube commenters express about black people. We're in trouble as a society.
  • Those who control the language control the political reality. This is a Hobbesian view. Orwell wrote a lot about it as well. Basically, those who define what language is acceptable also control political power. This is why language policing is important. It's not just being picky about certain terms, it's about defining good and evil or determining who has political power. Language is more important than people give credit for. They say don't be such a stickler about it, etc. They degrade the language and I can't help but think that as we increasingly rely on made up words, portmanteaus, squishy and vague language and terms, we are slowly dumbing down the entire society.
  • CA governor race is getting interesting now that Eric Swalwell (current frontrunner) is being accused of sexual assault. I'll be voting for Mahan, but he won't win. Centrist mayor of San Jose who wants G to work instead of focusing on the extra curriculars and b.s. that got us here.
  • I hate today.



    • 4/8/26 (19:23)
  • Wrapping up a couple big jobs this week. Not much on the horizon. Was drowning 2 weeks ago and now I'm worried about what's happening next week. I love being a business owner.
  • Speaking of whiplash...We're not quite on the verge of nuclear war anymore. Check back tomorrow to see if you should be buying iodine pills.
  • Just paid taxes. Maxed out what we could in a new 401k. Slowly taking our cash and putting it into the market. For the last several years we've been heavy on cash because we were trying to buy the house and then renovate it and I was worried about the economy, etc. Finally investing and getting things sorted out for the long-term. That means the stock market will probably implode just to spite me. This is the year of getting finances figured out and organized.


    • 4/3/26 (08:50)

  • Unfortunately we can no longer listen to Stevie Wonder's song "Black Man" because it will be cancelled shortly. It was already problematic for the line "Who was the Jewish financier who raised funds to sponsor Christopher Columbus' voyage to America? Lewis D. Santangel, a white man" But now it is downright unlistenable because of this line "Who was the leader of united farm workers and helped farm workers maintain dignity and respect? Caesar Chavez, a brown man"
  • Trying to get work done from home today. Managing guys when I'm in front of them is hard enough. Managing remotely is exponentially more difficult. If I give a list of tasks or a multi-step set of instructions it often ends in failure. More than one step at a time is too difficult, apparently.
  • Good news is that I hired a new guy and he seems capable of understanding more than two instructions at a time.


    • 4/1/26 (15:46)

  • When you get a service request from a tenant it's hardly ever something like "hey my fence is in kinda bad shape, can you fix it?" It's more likely to be "So our front and side gates have become dilapidated to the point they aren't usable for any safe or secure means. Our front gate has rusted from its foundation and the wood that it was holding to is rotten. Im afraid the gate will go down anytime and hopefully wont hurt anyone in the process. We would greatly appreciate your swift action before it falls off the hinges." I guess this is because some tenants are used to property managers who don't do anything so they think they have to say it's an imminent safety risk in order to get work done. But it's annoying as hell to see people acting so alarmist all the time. This is similar to the tenants who are always playing some angle and trying to get rent reductions, etc. because they think all landlords are rich assholes and they are innocent victims of capitalism. Meanwhile I'm caught in the middle of the bullshit.
  • Gas prices have gone to the moon. Trump looking pretty bad right now. He also royally screwed us with the liberation day b.s. right when we were selling our house. So far his presidency has not been good for me financially. Really makes me regret all the donations I made to his campaign. joke. please clap.
  • NYT interviewer on the weekend Interview podcast was talking with someone about screen time and she said "it's impossible to limit screen time for your kids. It's impossible." She said it twice. These are the idiots who are parents these days. PSA: While I will admit that it's difficult to control your kids outside of your home, you are the boss while they are home. And there can be consequences for behaviors you find out about outside of the home. Do with that information what you will. Maybe we got lucky with amazing kids (we did), but I also think we have done a pretty good job of being clear about what's allowed and what isn't. We haven't taken the easy route and put a tablet in front of them when we go to a restaurant because we want them to be quiet, etc. There are decisions you make as a parent and there are consequences to those decisions. If you use it like a crutch and you allow them to have screens of their own, then, yeah, it will be difficult/impossible to limit their screen time. If you do your job as a parent, instead of a cool buddy, then it's not impossible.
  • Car controls have gotten worse with time. Just because a technology exists doesn't mean you need to use it (see above). Car companies think you need to have everything be a touch screen. Refrigerator companies think you need to have wi-fi for your fridge. Touch screens are nice on phones and maybe even some appliances, but certainly not all. Touch screens work about 97% of the time, which makes the 3% quite annoying. Everyone has experienced a fat finger typo or having to double tap something when it didn't register the first time or it not working with gloves. These are very minor annoyances and it's all first world problems, yes. However, these are minor annoyances that they have chosen to impose on us when cheaper, better alternatives exist...which makes it a rather large annoyance in my view. Regular switches and knobs worked plenty well 100% of the time up until touch screens came along. When they don't work it's because they are mechanically broken and repair (even by an amateur) is usually easier as a result. It makes zero sense that I need a touch screen to adjust the temperature of the AC, for example. A simple rotary knob worked perfectly well and is faster. Instead, we have to tap a screen 10 times to get a 10 degree adjustment in temperature. When it breaks it will probably be $1000+ for the stealership to repair it. This isn't an improvement in any way other than additional revenue for the stealership.
  • For all these reasons and more I am staunchly in favor of the right to repair movement.

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