Replies

1. 
   KFC | Jun 08, 2009 08:56pm | #1

   Are you offering to send your copy, or are you pointing out a deal on Amazon?

   Also, did you happen to see the study by the Freakonomics guys on Amazon buyers and shipping costs?  Kinda funny.

   k

1. 
   jonblakemore | Jun 08, 2009 10:01pm | #2

   My copy.I did not see the Freakonomics article. Got a link? 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

1. 
   KFC | Jun 09, 2009 06:18am | #5

   I'll look for a link.  It might have been a study of e-bay sales, now that I think about it.

   The conclusion was that if the same item (in identical condition) was listed at many differing prices, most people would buy the one with the lower price, even if the seller's shipping fee was enough higher to more than offset the price "savings".

   Like, most folks would buy the new copy of the Little Mermaid dvd with the $12.99 "price" and $6.00 shipping fee over the new copy with a $13.99 "price" and a $4.00 shipping fee.

   k

1. 
   logcrafter | Jun 09, 2009 06:27am | #6

   not me but i have been called a cheap b* st*rd  every so often. then again math was on of the few subjects i was good at.

1. 
   KFC | Jun 10, 2009 06:40am | #8

   Yeah, it was kind of a funny study/conclusion.  I mean, it's hard to believe most people are that stupid, or can't do the math.  If you put both numbers in an equation, and asked which sum was more, they'd all get it right, I hope.

   I think it has more to do with the "stickiness"of the first number (in this case the "sales price") people see or hear.  No matter what other information they get next, that first number sticks.  Just kind of how many of our reptilian brains work.

   I know I've run into that with job estimating.  I try not to give a quick estimate (or if I do, I make it ridiculously high), because I know, no matter how many times I point out the various changes, that first number is going to come back at me...

   k

2. 
   FastEddie | Jun 09, 2009 01:40am | #3

   I'll take it.

   "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

   "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

1. 
   jonblakemore | Jun 09, 2009 02:29am | #4

   Ed,I'm sending you a PM. 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

1. 
   Piffin | Jun 10, 2009 02:16pm | #9

   I already have the Cliff's Notes versionOne word, one page"Gravity"Did anyone think buildings fell UP? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   jonblakemore | Jun 10, 2009 08:55pm | #11

   The first guy I worked for in the construction field like to wax on and teach me lessons, which was appreciated.However, one time I had to suppress laughing out loud when he gave me a "nugget".He was describing the integral part that gravity plays in restraining a structure, like why you would rarely have joist hangers connecting a rafter to a ridge beam.But the statement he made "Jon, if you could ever suspend the force of gravity, just for a second, all the buildings in the world would come crashing down" was just too much for me to take. 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

2. 
   jonblakemore | Jul 22, 2009 06:03am | #12

   Ed,I sent you an email but am not sure it went through.Did you ever receive the book? 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA

3. 
   rez | Jun 09, 2009 08:04pm | #7

   What'd you think of the book?

    

1. 
   jonblakemore | Jun 10, 2009 08:52pm | #10

   Mediocre.I was expecting something the lines of building pathology, like here are the ten main risks a building can experience, or something like that.Instead, it was a much more academic approach to larger structures. I got some information from it, but I only care so much about the back story of the buttresses at the Hagia Sophia and the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse. Interesting, just not what I was particularly looking for. 

   Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA