Off_White

Fair enough. Now, suppose you had used the money of investors to start a much larger business--investors who expected a return. And suppose that acquiescing to the demands of your now-organized employees meant that your ability to borrow from these investors for future projects was severely diminished. Exactly how would that serve the interests of the employees for whom you care so deeply? The notion of a rate of return for an investor as the highest moral value is one of the roots of the problem we're talking about, isn't it? The sort of venture you're describing doesn't place any great value on the interests of its employees in the first place.

Ivan: more lefty than hippy, but then again I don't think of hippyness as translating to business skills. I've certainly been more hippy in the past than I am now. Pink: Yes, my wife works, and not for my company either. You worry me, you shouldn't just be taking what's left over in your company, you need to proactively plan for what you need to make and structure that into your company's pricing. Pay yourself a salary regularly, know your numbers intimately, keep company finances clearly separate from your own. Email me or call me if you want to talk business sometime, or come visit next time you're in the NW. Fairweather: If my employees did that, I'd be concerned that something was really wrong in my company and some serious work, reorganization, and conversation needed to happen.

OK -time to put up or shut up, how much more than your competitors are you paying YOUR employees? Maybe I should walk away from this and go to work for you, oh blessed great employer jb who does so much for so many. I must have been wrong about you as strictly based on your posts you sound like a know-nothing parasite. How many employees do you have? I tend to agree with JB on more things than not, certainly on this particular post, so as a business owner and employer I thought I'd share my employment practices. I've got 5 employees, and I pay them as much as I can, including health insurance, dental insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, and flexibility with regards to unpaid time off. I think I'm roughly 10 to 15 percent over the competition in terms of total compensation, but folks in construction aren't always that forthcoming about this topic. A few years back I did have a conversation with one of my best competitors, and he did share info based on my promise that I wouldn't try and steal any of his people, so I'm not completely whistling in the dark. My employees are my greatest single business asset, and I want them to feel both valued by me and proud of their work. Perhaps more importantly than the compensation numbers, I encourage everyone to do their best and follow their own sense of how best to do things. Empowering the employees with authority over their own work is a good thing for them, the clients, and the company. Funny thing is, this is also a successful business strategy. Employee satisfaction and retention matters. My clients appreciate having the same folks they've come to know and love come back to work on their homes, and they notice the respect and attitude that flows throughout the company. In an industry where 95% of businesses fail on a ten year cycle, we're at 22 years and looking to weather this particular downturn just fine. Oh, I'm sure I personally could make more money by paying my employees as little as possible, but we wouldn't be doing the same work for the same people. I wouldn't be as happy or proud of my company either.

Dude, I think Rob is hitting on you, don't be so clueless. I suggest you set a date via PM.

Wow, I hope no one was hurt!

You speak with such authority about things you are so ignorant about, it's a real pattern for you, isn't it?

Yo Porter, you going to tha muthafuckin gathering of the Juggalos? [video:youtube]

Do you think he would accept a box of poop in lieu of a dollar? Just one from every person in my household?

Look Kev, an eagle!

Bear in mind that Jim is talking about a clinic on a Reservation. The issue of babies on the Rez is pretty complicated, there are prime examples of the link between early pregnancy and poverty, as well as folks who came from the boarding school era, a time when the federal government attempted to dismantle the tribes.

That was an entertaining link, another bit of TR's history I was unfamiliar with. Here's a link to the article in Orion magazine about the connection between Eugenics and the conservation movement. It was pretty eye opening to me, TR and Gifford Pinchot as white supremacists... link

Hey Bill, do you mean the same Teddy Roosevelt who was an ardent embracer of eugenics? He'd have happily had you sterilized for miscegenation. Well, maybe just your wife, since she's the one of inferior genetics...

Judging from recent BD Alex Hohnold Mallorca porn videos, it looks like things might have fixed ropes for escaping the water. Long drops to the sea on a bunch of that stuff, and I'll wager its not mostly 5.10 climber friendly...

Maybe Talkeetna has an ice cream shop called Sweettooth? Maybe it's at the top of a hill, errr, well, mound? Sarah wouldn't obfuscate, she's a maverick after all, eh?

That eerie soundtrack has me convinced that it must be UFOs. Unless maybe it was a government conspiracy...

Well, this site will do for Washington. (http://rocky.ess.washington.edu/data/raster/drg/index.html)

[video:youtube]

My beach, my wave.

Late season you can do that route in tennies without an axe, but personally I'd take boots and an axe right now. You'll likely have steep snow on that slope after the false summit this time of year, especially given the snowpack this year. You could probably do just fine with an axe and no crampons, but hopefully someone with recent experience will chime in with info rather than speculation. edited to add: check out the current Stuart Range Traverse TR, looks like those folks descended with tennies and a nut tool, though YMMV.

Word is that the descent from the NE Ridge notch to the N Cirque is pretty sketchy. I'm not sure if that means it was just dodgy unroped, or if there was no decent rappel option. You might check with John Frieh, it was a friend of his who had the first hand info (one of the same trio who climbed the N Face when I was in there on the NE Ridge).

That Fischer Creek camp is deer central

Nice to see this thread back in rotation! [video:youtube]

Ever use a leaf blower to clean off the wall post scrubbing? Highly recommended, though dangling with hot two stroke engines is not all that fun.

2 to 1 he hasn't a clue what you're on about Rob...