I hate to admit it, but I am becoming a cheapskate. Becoming? I’ve actually had the cheapskate gene for a long time.

For now, I’d like to know if any HVACR contracting businesses are being affected by the flooding in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, and elsewhere - and the same due to the fires in Southern California.

Just when I thought I had mastered the art of change, something else has happened. Instead of moving my cheese, someone rearranged my keyboard.

Skills USA National Conference and competition is this week in Kansas City. Based on the information I have, the student to beat in the HVACR division is Andrew Klein.

Unfortunately, every one of us has at least one story we can tell about a bad experience we’ve had with a contractor. When it gets right down to it, a lot of people just don’t trust contractors.

A pickup truck (Ford F-150) dropped off the list as the No. 1 vehicle of choice of Americans for the first time in decades as more fuel-efficient vehicles are in greater demand.

Remember what our industry went through to change over to 13 SEER equipment? Thank goodness it’s behind us. But wait, we are only 18 months away from another potential industry headache in the form of the new refrigerant mandates.

Ultimately, I believe it is the responsibility of all of us to educate and warn the public about carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning - through constant bombardment of information as well as new warning devices from manufacturers.

John McCain or Barrack Obama? Those are the choices. Who are you voting for in the next presidential election and why?

While it is true that good businesspeople - the haves - should not give away their secrets of success to competitors in the same market, it is not true that these wise people should keep their wisdom from spreading to their peers in the same industry.