WestCon Tribune

April 1999

APRIL BULLETIN BOARD

The next Westcon Meeting will be on
Wednesday, April 21, 1999
The Encinal Yacht Club, Alameda
6:15 - 7:00pm Social Hour
7:00 Dinner
8:00 Speakers

ELECTION RESULTS

SEMINARS AND CLASSES

CODE COMMITEE

NEW MEMBERS

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

ELECTION RESULTS

until April of 2001:

SEMINARS AND CLASSES

APRIL 12 & 13, 1999
INSULATED CONCRETE FORM CONSTRUCTION TRAINING

Blue Maxx is offering a two day course on April 12th and 13th from 8:00a.m.to 5:00p.m. The location will be at Tayman Park Golf Course, 927 Fitch Mountain Road in Healdsburg. The cost is $150.00 and includes lunchon both days. For more information, call (800) 478-4608 or visit thewebsite at .

APRIL 24, 1999
A seminar on UDS will be presented ON April 24th, 1999 by John Patrick McCaffrey, CSI, CCS, AIA, Chair of the UDS Task Team, at the AIA SanFrancisco Chapter, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600 in San Francisco. Theseminar will begin at 9:00a.m. Registration is at 8:30a.m. and the seminarwill go until 4:00p.m. with lunch from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. The cost of the seminar is $100.00 for CSImembers and $150.00 for non-members with six hours of credit toward Health,Safety and Welfare requirements and 18 learning units for continuingeducation requirements for AIA members.

MAY 29, 1999
Business Mediation Training
By Ron Kelly

Offered through UC Berkeley Extension. Begins on May 29, 1999 and runsfor five Saturdays

You'll learn how to create a planned, step-by-step process toresolve nearly every kind of business dispute.

40-Hour Certificate issued on completion. CE credit available forattorneys and other professionals. For more information, please contact RonKelly at (510) 843-6074.

The "NUTS AND BOLTS OF NUTS AND BOLTS"

APRIL 23, 1999
The Association of Defense Counsel will be holding a ConstructionSeminar on April 23, 1999 at the Hyatt located at 302 South Market Streetin downtown San Jose.

Time: 8:45-5:00 p.m.
Registration: 8:45-9:15 a.m.
Cost: $150.00 Ü Members
$135.00 Ü Non-attorneys
$250.00 Ü Non-member attorneys
Additional Information: (415) 543-1020

It's All In The Planning
David Schooler of Tait Forsythe, Campbell will discuss reading andanalyzing plans and construction reports.

Depo Demo
David Schooler, Westcon Member - JonathanBacon, Cullom, Burland, Bacon & Overpeck and Jonathan Margolis of Low Ball& Lynch, Monterey will discuss and demonstrate the highlights - andlowlights - of deposing a construction expert. Advising participants to"keep your eyes on the prize", plaintiff and defense attorneys will demonstrate techniques,while Schooler offers his insight into what works, what doesn't workÜ and what makes experts squirm.

Luncheon Presentation Ü Taking Complex Litigation tothe Next Level: How Technology Can Help Ü Matt Giampaoli (LaMore,Brazier & Riddle, San Jose).

On-Site Visit - Warmington Homes, Morgan Hill
Walk the site with the seasoned leaders. They'll take youthrough each phase of a construction site.

MAY 17TH- JUNE 18TH, 1999

The 7th Annual Bay Area Architectural Computer ÜGraphics Exhibit
Exhibit Opening Ü May 17th, 6:00 Ü 8:00 p.m.

Thank you to John Ward for submitting the following two fun items:

How Specifications Can Live On Forever

The U.S. standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number, Why was thatgauge used? Because that's the way they built them in England, and the U.S. railroads were built byEnglish expatriates. Why did the English people build them like that?Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built thepre-railroad tramways, and that's the gauge they used.

Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because thepeople who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they usedfor building wagons, which used that wheel spacing. Why did the wagons use that odd wheel spacing?Well, if they tried to use any other spacing the wagons would break on someof the old, long-distance roads, because that is the spacing of the oldwheel ruts.

So who built theseold rutted roads? The first long-distance roads in Europe were built byImperial Rome for the benefit of their legions. The roads have been usedever sincl. And the ruts? The initial ruts, which everyone else had tomatch for fear of destroying their wagons, were first made by Roman war chariots. Because the chariots were madefor or by Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheelspacing.

Thus, we have the answer to the original questions. The United Statesstandard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches derives form the original specifications for an Imperial Romanarmy war chariot. Specs and bureaucracies live forever. So, the next timeyou are handed specifications and wonder what horse's ass came up with them, you may be exactly right. Because the ImperialRoman chariots were made to be just wide enough to accommodate the backends of two war horses.

FISHMOUTH

Defining Roles

Contractor: A gambler who never gets to shuffle, cut, or deal.
Bid: A wild guess carried out to decimal places.
Bid Opening: A poker game in which the losing hand wins.
Low Bidder: A Contractor who is wondering what he left out.
Engineer's Estimate: the cost of construction in Heaven.
Project Manager: The conductor of an orchestra in which every musicianis in a different union.
Critical Path Method: A management technique for losing your shirtunder perfect control
Liquidated Damages: A penalty for failing to achieve the impossible.
Delayed Payment: A tourniquet applied at the pickets.
Strike: an effort to increase egg production by strangling the chicken.
OSHA: A protective coating made by half-baking a mixture of fineprint, red tape, split hairs, and baloney.
Auditor: Someone who goes in after the war is lost to bayonet the wounded.
Lawyer: Someone who goes in after the auditors to strip the bodies.

CODE COMMITTEE MEETING

The Board of Directors asked that the Code Committee make apresentation on the proposed One-Day Symposium entitled "Deficiencies in Framed Buildings, Water Resistance, Structures andFoundations" at the May 19, 1999 meeting.

Please join us in preparing for the presentation at 6:30 p.m. prior tothe April 21st dinner meeting.

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