I am sure all contractors have heard some pretty bad and awkward answers when interviewing candidates for a job opening. Some applicants are not so quick on their feet, while others don’t handle their nervousness real well. And then, of course, there is the fact that 10 percent of the population are morons.

Well, let’s see if anything you have heard during a job interview can top this list. A survey of some top executives from U.S. corporations produced some of these gems that ended up in my e-mail inbox last week:

• Balding applicant abruptly excused himself and returned to the office a few minutes later, wearing a hairpiece.

• Applicant claimed to be so well qualified that if he didn’t get the job, it would prove the company’s management was incompetent.

• Applicant wore a Walkman, claiming she could listen to the interviewer and the music at the same time.

• Applicant asked interviewer if he would put on a suit jacket to ensure the offer was formal.

• Applicant refused to get out of his chair until interviewer agreed to hire him. Interviewer had to call the police to have him removed.

• Applicant pulled out a Polaroid camera and snapped a flash picture of the interviewer. He claimed to collect photos of everyone who interviewed him.

• During the interview, an alarm clock went off in the applicant’s briefcase. He took it out, apologized, and said he had to leave for another interview.

I would love to hear some of your bad interview stories. Please share.

I love reality television. Check that, I love really bad reality television. I greatly enjoy when G-list celebrities attempt to lose weight, find love, or reclaim popularity, all while the cameras are rolling. I also think locking 10 strangers in a house and filming their every move is the best television idea since Steve Allen started The Tonight Show.

What is to stop the HVAC industry from getting in on the action? This thought hit me when I walked in on my wife watching some reality show documenting the trials and tribulations of cake decorators. I think it was called Ace of Cakes. If that job can get its own 30-minute show, then surely we should be able to find some love for the heating and cooling crew.

What we need to find is an entertaining, loud mouth, charismatic HVAC contractor who would like to have his life taped and shown to the country. I am kind of envisioning the HVAC industry finds a character like that guy on Dogg the Bounty Hunter — minus the racism, of course.

Not a bad way to promote the industry. Do we have any volunteers or nominations? Any show name ideas? Let me know.

While I am a reality television guru, in the interest of full disclosure, I would not know Jon and Kate if they knocked on my front door and introduced themselves — and I would like to keep it that way. So let’s stay away from the creepy family angle.

With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent, there are a lot of good people out there looking for jobs. In addition, there are always people with jobs who are looking for new jobs. None of your employees I am sure, but they are out there.

Keeping that in mind, I thought I would share an e-mail that made it into my inbox this week. It helps job seekers understand what certain phrases they see in a job ad really mean. Hope this helps.

• Competitive salary: We remain competitive by paying you less than our competition.

• Join our fast-paced company: We have no time to train you.

• Some overtime required: Some every night and some every weekend.

• Duties will vary: Anyone in the office can boss you around.

• Must have an eye for detail: We have no quality assurance.

• Career-minded: Female applicants must be childless (and remain that way).

• Apply in person: If you’re old, fat, or ugly, you’ll be told that the position has been filled.

• Seeking candidates with a wide variety of experience: You’ll need it to replace the three people who just quit.

• Problem-solving skills a must: You’re walking into perpetual chaos.

• Requires team leadership skills: You’ll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.

• Good communication skills: Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want, and do it.

Cleaning out the archives this morning:

• Goettl Air Conditioning in Phoenix has found an interesting way to market their business this hot season. The business has partnered with a local radio station to find the four hottest moms in the area. Goettl will then provide them with a new a/c unit.

Mix 96.9 listeners were invited to nominate a mother they feel deserved a new air conditioning unit by uploading a picture of her onto the station’s Website, www.mix969.com. I enjoy how the nominating process involves only a pic. Voting takes place through June 26.

You can view the pics and vote (for marketing research only, I am sure) at the Website. I might have to head down to Phoenix to make sure we properly cover this story. As of press time, Rosie O’Donnell’s picture had not been submitted.

• And here is yet another reason why contractors need to sell zoning. According to the Stuart News, a disagreement about the temperature setting of the air conditioning landed a woman in jail. At that point, I guess Shirley Guerrier was at the mercy of whoever controls the temp at the St. Lucie County jail.

According to the report, Guerrier’s son-in-law came home late at night and complained that the a/c had been turned down. An argument started and the woman “lunged at him, scratching his head and chest and knocking him to the ground.”

Now, all that unpleasant behavior could have been avoided if the household had zoning and each person was able to decide what temperature they are most comfortable at.

Our air conditioner, who art in the basement,
Hallowed be thy coolness.
Thy cold air come.
Thy will be done,
On ground level as in the bungalow.

Well, something like that anyway. That prayer is for Antonia Rutz Hernandez. According to a report on KRGV-TV’s Website, the Rio Grand Valley, Texas, resident’s air conditioning unit is the place the Virgin Mary decided to appear.

Per the crazy lady, the image has been on the side of the unit for a couple of years now. According to the report, the crazy lady did not know why the image appeared, stating, “I don’t know … probably a miracle in there. God can do everything if you pray a lot.”

So was she praying for God to spruce up her air conditioning unit?

I hate to be the bad guy here, but with all the problems in the world today, why would the Big Guy be spending his time on an a/c unit? Now if he was turning 10 SEER into 18 SEER, well, then there is a story worthy of coverage.

But if this praying stuff really works, then I am game. Please excuse me while I get on my knees and pray that I will never have to hear about Jon and Kate Plus Eight ever again.

To view a picture of the image, which in my humble opinion looks like a cross between the Virgin Mary and Obi-Wan Kenobi, visit www.krgv.com.

As anyone who is on Facebook knows, fun quizzes tend to be pretty popular on that social networking site. The NEWS did not want to be left behind so we came up with the “Which A/C Component Are You” quiz.

Take the quiz below to figure it out and join the ACHR NEWS on Facebook by registering on the site and searching our name. And if anyone has anymore quiz ideas, please send them our way.

QUIZ:

1. Your family is planning a vacation. How do you decide where to go?

a. Everyone puts in an idea, so you discuss it and come to a vote. You trust that you can persuade enough people to go where you want to go, even though they think they had a say in it. You are manipulative, and you think it’s cute. (1 point)

b. You let someone else decide, but after the decision is made you criticize the choice because you could have planned something much better. Without your input it’s just not as good. (2 points)

c. You’re not sure you want to go on vacation. Will everything be taken care of? Who will take care of the animals? Who will bring in the mail? You can see all kinds of problems, but you don’t do anything to fix them. (3 points)

d. You like the idea of vacation as long as you do everything yourself! If you don’t handle all the planning and execution, you’re just not sure it will be done. (4 points)

e. You do everything to plan for the trip without being asked, and as usual, no one notices. You whine a lot. (5 points)

2. Your parents are talking about assisted living options and they want your input. You:

a. Pull together all the material you can, offer them plenty of choices, and guide them toward moving into the place that’s most convenient for you to visit. (1 point)

b. You bring your brothers and sisters into the discussion, but you don’t like any of their ideas. However, you don’t tell your parents about this until it’s too late. They really should have listened to you. (2 points)

c. Assisted living? OMG! Is that like a nursing home? You panic and cry. (3 points)

d. You find your parents’ brochures, read them, decide which would be best for them, start packing their books, and practically put their house on the market so no one else, including your parents, can screw it up. (4 points)

e. You do all the research, all the packing, and clean and redecorate your parents’ house before it goes on the market. They can never thank you enough. (5 points)

3. On movie night, you:

a. Decide based on what everyone is in the mood to watch, but you press enthusiastically for your choice by citing online reviews and the recommendations of friends and co-workers. (1 point)

b. You let the others discuss movie choices, and you try to convey your preferences through body language. Surely someone must notice how interested you are in that new comedy released this week! If they miss your signals, make sure they know that this was a mistake. (2 points)

c. You typically can’t make up your mind. You are most effective voting along with someone else’s choice. (3 points)

d. Get the living room ready by vacuuming, dusting, and getting out the TV tables. It’s a shame that everyone gets crumbs on the floors anyway. (4 points)

e. Make popcorn without being asked, then get upset when they bring home some other snack with the movie. (5 points)

4. When it’s time to go to bed, you:

a. Say goodnight and go to bed, but you’re not surprised when you hear everyone else go to bed soon afterwards. (1 point)

b. Say, “I’m tired. Time for bed, everyone!” You are blissfully unaware of their rolling eyes. (2 points)

c. You yawn and hope it starts a chain reaction of yawning — or at least gets someone to ask if you’re tired. Like maybe they care. (3 points)

d. Turn down everyone’s blankets, put on the nightlight in the bathroom, spritz a relaxing lavender spray, and get everything ready for bed. Nobody cares. (4 points)

e. You march the kids upstairs, let the dog out one more time, and prep the coffee maker to start brewing automatically tomorrow morning. (5 points)

RESULTS:

1. Compressor: You are the heart of the system! Without you, there is no air conditioning. What’s more, you’ve gotten everyone else to buy into the idea of your importance. If you don’t go to a party and the party flops, people assume that it’s because you didn’t show up with your sparkling wit and homemade salsa. (1-4 points)

2. Motor: You are crucial to the system, but in your mind, you are under-appreciated. Who needs the compressor! Without you, cool air doesn’t circulate through the ducts! Without you, air isn’t cleaned by those hoity-toity IAQ products. You have a slightly exaggerated sense of worth, but don’t forget: You are replaceable. (5-8 points)

3. Thermostat: You are an attention seeker. Why not? Everyone looks at you all the time, and people fight over the right to control you. You can even send out warnings, making you something of a Chicken Little. (9-12 points)

4. Filter-drier: People don’t realize how important you are, and you complain about that A LOT. Just like a martyred mom, you clean and you clean with little or no help, and you keep things running in order. Your only consolation is that they’ll miss you when you’re gone. (13-16 points)

5. Metering device: Typical control freak. You have a compulsive need to watch the comings and goings of those in your life. You like to tell people when they can go, where they can go, and how much they can take with them. Your life is one big power trip. (17-20 points)

When times are tough contractors (and any business person) need to get creative to survive. One such idea is what people are calling the “business of barter.” Evidently, bartering is making a comeback.

We are not talking about receiving three goats in exchange for a furnace, but rather doing HVAC work in exchange for work being done on their service vehicles… or some such arrangement. Here is a link to a story done by ABC 7 in Chicago on the topic: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=6808065

So it is your fault, Mr. HVAC Contractor. You with your comfortable air conditioning and toasty central heating. You are the reason the spare tire around my midsection would rival anything you could find at Goodyear.

I always had a suspicion it was your fault. For a while I thought it might be because I like to supersize at McDonald’s or was perhaps due to my propensity to double dip my chicken wings in ranch dressing. But no, the fact that I carry around an extra few pounds is obviously the fault of my HVAC contractor, and I have the data to prove it.

A survey conducted recently by the National Center for Healthy Housing (which can be seen at www.nchh.org) showed that an increase in air conditioning directly correlates to an increase in obesity. Evidently if you are in a comfortable, climate-controlled environment, you are less likely to get out of the house and be active. Let’s call this the “Rosie O’Donnell Theory.”

It makes total sense now. When I was in college and lived in an apartment with no air conditioning, I was a perfectly fit 21-year-old student. Now that I have pushed past 30 and am living in an air conditioned home, suddenly I am above my target weight.

You son of a bitch! Always thinking of yourself and your profit margin instead of the health of yours truly. You must have known I would not be able to handle a/c. Time for a class-action lawsuit.

How dare you! What do you have to say for yourself?

Do HVAC technicians get paid enough? All our technician readers shaking their heads no should read a recent article from Careerbuilder.com. In an article titled, “5 Salaries You Thought Would Be Higher,” HVACR mechanic and installer took second place on this dubious list.

Talk about income level tends to be taboo. The only thing most people know for sure is that they don’t make enough money and their bosses make too much. Careerbuilder.com states the average HVAC tech makes $40,630. In the “why it’s surprising section,” the article explains that while consumers pay a lot per hour for the services, part of that money goes to parts, transportation, etc.

Well, let’s try to get past the part where it is surprising that it costs money to run a business. Items such as health care, training, and marketing costs might impact the bottom line just a tad. The real question is why is there such a sticker shock on the hourly rate? Does everyone scream when they pay $4 for a pint of beer at the local bar that obviously does not cost that much to produce since I can get a 12 pack for $15 at the grocery store? Why does everybody respect other professions’ cost of doing business, but that does not translate to HVAC?

I would say “Show HVAC the Money,” but that would just shine light on how horribly outdated my pop culture references are. In case you are curious, the other four jobs that made the top five were fishers, construction and maintenance painters, court reporters, and foresters.

There are some questions that are impossible to answer. Questions such as:

What truly happens to you after you die?

Why do customers think it is not necessary to pay HVAC technicians immediately after the work is completed?

How did Alan Thicke possibly accumulate 14 more Facebook friends in four weeks’ time?

In case any of my three readers forgot, about a month ago, The NEWS started a Facebook page. The first goal was to create a place to get updates on The NEWS, in addition to talking shop with HVAC contractors, technicians, et al. from all around the world.

The second goal was to defeat that pompous Canadian actor by accumulating more members on our page than his.

(The third goal was to impress the bosses by thinking outside-the-box and creating a “social media network,” but that is more of an individual thing.)

I am happy to report we are succeeding on both goals. There is some chatter on our message board including a few posts from people who are equally excited to pass Alan Thicke. And our total has skyrocketed to 42 people, which puts us within striking distance of “Jason Seaver,” who had 69 members.

Well, it seems like Thicke is a bit of a moving target and has increased his total to 83. But fear not, for we are gaining on him.

So, if you have not joined, please do. And if you have joined, tell a friend. Just go to www.facebook.com and search the Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration NEWS.

Join the revolution!

I think it would be fair to say I was not the easiest student to deal with back in the day. I know, you are probably shocked.

I remember a sixth-grade religion class back at St. John Vianney Elementary School when the teacher asked me, “What was the last thing Jesus said during the Last Supper?”

A young Kyle Gargaro replied, “Everyone on this side of the table for the picture.”

So as you can see, I was a handful.

So that is why it is a bit ironic that I am heading up the 2009 Instructor of the Year competition sponsored by The NEWS and the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Not as ironic as me marrying a teacher, but I digress.

The goal is to recognize and reward the instructors who have dedicated their careers to enriching the lives of their students. The nomination process is open to anyone who has seen firsthand the work an instructor has done to better the industry.

Nominees should be from a vocational school, community college, apprenticeship, or adult education program. The list excludes manufacturer-distributor trainers and seminar speakers.

The deadline for entries is June 6, with the winners to be announced in November.

You can fill out a nomination form by visiting www.achrnews.com. Or if the information super highway scares you, be sure to fill out the form on page 21 of this issue.

Good luck.

This joke e-mail made its way into my inbox recently. While I don’t suggest contractors use this as a template, it does provide a laugh.

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES
SUBJECT: SICK LEAVE POLICY

SICKNESS: No excuse ... We will no longer accept your doctor’s statement as proof. We believe that if you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

AN OPERATION: We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage any thoughts that you may need an operation. We believe that as long as you are an employee here, you will need all of whatever you have and should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are, and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we bargained for.

DEATH: Other than your own:
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for them, and we are sure that someone else can attend to the arrangements. However, if the funeral can be held in the late afternoon, we will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently let you leave 1 hour early, provided your share of the work is ahead enough to keep the job going in your absence.

Your own: This will be accepted as an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks’ notice as we feel it is your duty to train your replacement.

ALSO: Entirely too much time is being spent in the restroom. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alphabetical order. For instance, those whose names begin with “A” will go from 8:00-8:15, and so on. If you’re unable to go at your time, it will be necessary to wait until the next day when your time comes again.

The ACHR NEWS has made its arrival on Facebook. For those of you who don’t know, Facebook is an online social network that allows you to connect with people all over the world. You can meet everyone from that old high school flame to like-minded business individuals. And now you can connect with fellow NEWS readers as I have recently created an ACHR NEWS group.

Now, some might say my actions are a pathetic attempt to justify checking my Facebook page periodically on company time. However, I like to interpret my actions as that of a go-getting employee who wants to share the good NEWS wherever he goes.

There are a ton of groups on Facebook. I am a member of 29 groups. Everything from groups that help me network (Central Michigan University Alumni group) to those that simply amuse me (If You Aren’t Supposed to Eat Animals, Why Are They Made out of Meat group).

Our group will be a place to get updates on The NEWS in addition to talking shop with HVAC contractors, technicians, etc. from all around the world. Hopefully, it will be great for networking.

By the way, a quick search showed that Alan Thicke’s group had 69 members. Now, if The NEWS group can’t beat a washed-up Canadian actor, then I might go into a deep depression.

So, help me out and join our social network. Just sign up for a free Facebook account, and once you get settled, type Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration NEWS in the search box. Let’s beat Alan Thicke!

It would be the understatement of the year to say I am not a poetry aficionado. Unless, of course, we are talking about: “There once was a man from Nantucket.”

So, obviously, I will leave the poetry to others. This one from contractor Phil Jeffers recently crossed my desk and I thought I would share. Enjoy.

ODE to HVAC

When summer comes all is not lost,  
  You’ll have the lowest operating costs.

Weather you live in Your-Town, or reside in Mumfort,  
  You will have much better indoor comfort.

Living in a house, or living in a shoe,  
  Your new system will dramatically increase your IAQ.

At night you hear crickets, you here the hounds,  
  Cause new units make much less sounds.

Living in the country or in the city,  
  You’ll have much better at control of Hu-Mid-Dity.

The CFC phase-out is under way,  
  No problem, new units run on environmentally friendly R410a.

Let me tell you just what the facts is,  
  You can get money back when you do your taxes.

You’ll have peace of mind for your money spent.  
  Knowing you’ve lowered your carbon footprint.

As you live in your house, or pass it on to your successors, 
  You’ll be much more comfortable with two stage compressors.

And if your unit should ever “breaky”  
  Lucky for you, you’ll have longer warren-tehe!

Everyone has called in “sick” to work even though they were perfectly able to attend. Well, everyone but me. I love my job more than life itself and would never want to miss a day (had to throw that in there in case the bosses are reading).

According to a careerbuilders.com annual survey on absenteeism, 32 percent of the workers surveyed said they called in sick even though they felt well last year. Even more staggering, 10 percent admitted to doing it three or more times.

The best part is that careerbuilders.com shared some of the unusual excuses that hiring managers had heard. Check some of these out:

• Employee was poisoned by his mother-in-law.

• A buffalo escaped from the game reserve and kept charging the employee every time she tried to go to her car from her house.

• Employee called from his cell phone, saying that he was accidentally locked in a restroom stall and that no one was around to let him out.

• Employee’s wife said he couldn’t come into work because he had a lot of chores to do around the house.

• Employee’s dog swallowed her bus pass.

• A skunk got into the employee’s house and sprayed all of his uniforms.

• Employee was sad.

I am sure our contractor readers have heard a few good ones. Please share the most outrageous excuse you have ever received from an employee.

Everywhere you turn there are government bailout discussions. Everyone from major financial institutions on Wall Street to domestic auto companies are looking for some cabbage from the taxpayer.

However, count Roberts Heating and Air Conditioning as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. According to www.fortcollinsnow.com, the contractor is putting a new twist on an old promotion.

During February, Roberts Heating and Air Conditioning is attempting to locate the oldest furnace in Fort Collins. Once they find that furnace, the owner will be awarded with a new furnace from Carrier along with free installation. They are calling it the company’s Furnace Bailout contest.

I think it is an interesting idea and a good way to localize a national issue. It was important enough to get in the Fort Collins newspaper, and unique enough to get into my e-mail box via Google Alerts.

There is no doubt that air conditioning is an important product for America. However, a recent survey from the Pew Research Center reaffirms what all of us know. That air conditioning is a necessity and not a luxury.

The research center randomly surveyed a nationally-representative sample of 2,000 adults and gave them a list of items to classify as either a necessity or luxury. Air conditioning had the fourth highest necessity total of 70 percent. This is a 19 percent increase from when the survey was first taken in 1996. Some of the items air conditioning “beat” included microwave (68 percent), television set (64 percent), and home computer (51 percent). The only items that outscored air conditioning were car, clothes washer, and clothes dryer. I would rather be cool in my house while my clothes were baking in the sun outside, but whatever.

To read the entire results, http://pewsocialtrends.org/assets/pdf/Luxury.pdf

This was in my e-mail inbox, so I thought I would share it with all three of my readers. All these quotes are attributed to Thomas Jefferson. With the backdrop of this very volatile time, this is some pretty scary foreshadowing …

• “When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”

• “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

• “To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

• “It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

• “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”

• “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.”

And this last one is the kicker …

• “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

A good owner is always looking for some solid management advice. In addition, every solid employee should be looking for ways to be a better worker. With that in mind, I share these two stories that were shared with me: A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke. The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you one wish each."

"Me first! Me first!" says the administration clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world."

Poof! She's gone.

In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas, and the love of my life."

Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager.

The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

One of my google alerts provided a link to this web page that showcases the three coolest ancient air-conditioning devices. Obviously this is very subjective, but I thought each of my three readers might enjoy.

Visit http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/green-living/3-coolest-ancient-air-conditioning-devices/4314 for the info.

The following info was sent into me by one of my three readers. As an investor with very limited knowledge of the stock market, this makes perfect sense to me. So I thought I would share…

If you had purchased $1,000 of AIG stock one year ago, you would have $42 left.

With Lehman, you would have $6.60 left.

With Fannie and Freddie, you would have less than $5 left.

But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer in cans one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling refund, you would have had $214.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It is called the 401-Keg.

During this election season, which thankfully comes to a close this week, we have been inundated with polls.

And, of course, Senator Obama’s staff cites polls in which he is ahead by double digits while Senator McCain’s folks cite polls where the contest is in a dead heat.

On Tuesday night, we will find out who is right.

As the old saying goes, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Of course, I am 100 percent certain that I will be ecstatic once I have heard the last of these polls.

However, a Zogby Poll that recently crossed my desk did peak my interest. It was a survey of working Americans describing their workplace. One out of every four workers described their workplace as a dictatorship and just 34 percent believed bosses in the American workplace react well to valid criticism.

Now obviously the word “valid” can be subjective. A former employee with our company was greatly distraught there was no Mountain Dew in the break room and felt we should have Pepsi vending machines instead of Coke machines. He thought this was a valid complaint. Management and the rest of the civilized world would tell him to “move on.”

But back to the survey. Only 46 percent of those surveyed said their workplace promotes creativity, while only 51 percent said their co-workers often feel motivated at work.

If this survey was done at your office, do you think the numbers would be the same? What can you do to improve those percentages?

I am not sure if it has the number of listeners of a Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern. However, IAQ radio is celebrating show No. 100 today (Oct. 24). The show is broadcast every Friday at 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

According to its Website, “This is the place where the world discusses indoor air quality, the built environment and disaster restoration issues. Every Friday at noon ET the show is live. The shows host are Joe Hughes, President of IAQ Training Institute and Cliff Zlotnik, President of Microban Systems. Every week we interview experts from the indoor air quality, building sciences and the disaster restoration industries. As instructors for IAQ and disaster restoration training programs and active participants in industry associations we have the credibility and contacts necessary to bring top industry experts as guests on the show every week. The show is designed to help promote education and communication for industry professionals and consumers in need of assistance with IAQ, built environment and disaster restoration issues.”

To hear today’s show or archives shows, visit www.iaqradio.com

I guess they do things a little differently in Russia. The picture below shows a resourceful young man attempting to install some product in a very unconventional manner.

Not sure what our friends from OSHA would say, but I would imagine they would not be big fans. I found this at the Website englishrussia.com.

To see the rest of the pics, visit http://englishrussia.com/?p=2074#more-2074

I need a good 12-step program. No, I am not addicted to granddad’s cough syrup, but rather the online social networking site called Facebook.

On this site, users can add friends, send them messages, as well as write up a personal profile and notify friends what they are doing at a specific time. The wife of a friend invited me into this world about a month ago, and now I am hooked.

I check it about twice a day in a behavior that can be best described as one of a 12-year-old girl. I am up to 64 friends in what is strangely now becoming a competition.

On Facebook, you can also join specific groups by becoming a fan. I have joined such groups as The Office, Artie Lange, and the Black Crowes.

In addition, this morning I officially became a fan of air conditioning. I now have 752 additional friends with a common bond being our love of air conditioning.

While a percentage of these people seem to enjoy the pun of becoming a “fan” of air conditioning, the message board is jammed with others who praise this fine product.

Comments like, “I just moved into my dorm room that has none of you. I miss you SOOO much” and “I can’t sleep without you, baby” have been fun to read.

So come join me on www.facebook.com and proclaim your love for air conditioning. We can do better than 752. I mean, Michael Bolton has 2,179 fans, for goodness sake. We can do better than that.