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Is contractor licensing a good thing for the public or just a restriction on the number of contractors? As a contractor, I have been involved in this licensing question for quite some time now, and thought it would be good to obtain your viewpoint on this issue.

Subway’s $5 Footlong® has been one of the company’s most successful promotions, and I admit that its commercial jingle used to get stuck in my head every time I heard it. But even more impressive than the catchy jingle is the story of how the $5 Footlong came to be.

A lot of savvy contractors have been turning their attention to providing energy audits to help validate energy-saving measures to their customers in all markets. Both government and utility incentives are helping to drive this market - which includes validation tools and training programs.

After conducting an informal technology usage survey a few weeks ago, it was interesting to find that the HVAC industry appears to be rather divided between geeks and dinosaurs. Balancing these technology extremes begs the question, “What do you get when you cross a geek with a dinosaur?” Answer: Common sense.

A popular political talk show for many years was “Beyond the Beltway.” It supposedly covered topics that the rest of the country cared about - but that Washington politicians inside the Beltway didn’t care about. The East Coast is not the only part of the country where there are perception problems.

The mechanical system drives more than 40 percent of the operating costs of a home. Consider that the entire envelope of the structure contributes to the operating costs, and it makes sense that HVAC contractors should offer complete home energy audits.

Businesspeople across the country are looking for ways to show their social responsibility by recycling, usually paper, plastic bottles, and in the case of HVACR contractors, scrap metal. A national group called Freecycle takes recycling beyond this, offering people the chance to give away or take in goods.

Reports from several of The NEWS’ sources in the industry indicate that the Summer of 2010 is shaping up to be a fairly good one. Yet, times are tough for some, even amid the recent good news that industry sales are beginning to climb. Why the dichotomy? How can things get better for some and worse for others?

The modern U.S. electrical grid is one of the largest machines in the world and it’s learning to talk. As it learns to talk, it teaches other physical entities to communicate and together they intend to preach the gospel of efficiency to all, no matter the cost.

My last column discussed how a company could use Facebook to its advantage by doing background research there on both current and prospective employees. Now I will talk about the negative side of this social media site - unsatisfied customers taking to Facebook and starting pages that disparage your company.