The Wild Wild NAS

Note: I wrote this in 2016.

Our company recently purchased a quadcopter UAV, a really cool drone with a killer, gimbal-mounted, high-res multifunction camera capable of video and still photography. Its intended use is to provide us a means of inspecting inaccessible roofs. As I write, our drone is sitting on a workbench at the manufacturer's repair facility, out California way while back in Chicago, its operator (me) awaits a damage assessment/repair bill. It's FUBAR. I know it. I scraped it off the ground.

And I am not alone.  As of January, almost 300,000 recreational drones have registered with the FAA. Expect this number to go sky high come summer, as the FAA should make Part 107 the new law on the block. Currently, an operator of a drone for profit is required by law to possess a pilot's license. ...a real, bonifide pilot's license. Part 107 will likely do away with this.  I recently attended a Meetup panel presentation Titled "Is the Sky the Limit?" There, Mark Foisy, the Aviation Safety Inspector/Unmanned Aircraft Specialist for the Federal Aviation Agency alluded to as much.

As said, this will likely cause the number of drones and drone operators to skyrocket. To say the drone industry is a magnet to dreamers, schemers and snake oil salespeople is an understatement. With the tech built into today's consumer UAVs, practically anyone who's ever picked up a game controller can fly a drone. It's a no-brainer. Hell, I flew ours mere hours after acquiring it. And I take RTFM very seriously. So it is absolutely imperative that operators are held to high standards of safety, responsibility and oversight.

Think about this. The operator of a 15 pound drone has a flyaway  (a loss of operator control). The UAV crashes, resulting in vehicle accidents, property damage, personal injury or other mayhem. And with their proliferation and likely ubiquity, the potential for such scenarios increase.

So what is a fledgling drone operator to do? Moreover, what will the regulatory outcome be? Regarding the latter, the FAA has the final say, and they're still trying to figure it out. The rules will invariably be tweaked, again.

As for me, my plan is to operate responsibly, within the current regulations. In anticipation of Part 107, I'm planning on taking flight school (ground school) courses to become familiarized with the the terminology and NAS rules and regs. Ignorance has no place in the wild, wild NAS.

Luck

Yesterday I went grocery shopping. When I shop I use wireless Bluetooth headphones. At the checkout line, I take them out and put them in my pocket. After walking out of the store with my cart I reach into my pocket to retrieve the buds to put them back in their case only to discover one is missing. Also I discover a hole in said pocket. I look for them to no avail. Anyway, fast forward to this morning I call the grocery store and ask if they could look for it in lost and found. It wasn't there. I asked if I could come back to look one more time. They said sure. So I put on the same jacket and as I'm walking out to the truck I reach into the jacket pocket below the holy pocket and find the second earbud. It fell into another pocket.

Buying a Home Is Emotional

For most of us, buying a home is a big deal. It's likely the largest purchase we ever make and for many it's a rollercoaster. According to a recent survey I found on the internet, more than 65% of Gen Z buyers and 61% of millennials report crying at least once during their home-buying journey.

It doesn't matter if it's your first, second, or third home. It doesn't matter if you're single, raising a family or thinking about doing so. Your purchase or lack thereof will affect lives. 

A house is a dwelling; a place of residence, no more, no less.

 A home is different. A home is where you raise your kids, celebrate life events, entertain family and friends, live, love, sleep, work and play. A home is a refuge from the world. … even more relevant these past few years.

 

Knowing what you're getting into while looking to buy a home, and having a basic understanding of its systems is core to making wise, informed choices. 

A home inspection provides knowledge.

An inspector gathers information about the dwelling and its systems. Mostly, inspectors look for defects.

You get a report. 

But a great home inspection does that and more. A great home inspector provides insight to help make a better home.

This is where we come in. 

This is what we do.

 

CBI inspectors not only identify and report the broken stuff, we're mindful about how it all works together, or not. 

We live and breathe this stuff. We do this every day and in Chicagoland, we see it all. ...everything from Architectural Digest alumni, century-old mansions, new-construction and old single family houses, multi-unit apartment buildings, high-rise condos, townhomes, 3 flats, 2 flats (I've inspected parking spaces. Yeah.

We also temporarily take all of the liability off your shoulders (and hopefully some of the stress and anxiety) while performing your inspection. And then we give it back to you. 

You get a report.

But that's not all. We want to make sure you have basic understanding of what's going on, ...of how it all works together. We want you to understand the both the report and the dwelling's innerworkings.

Real estate is serious business. The money is big no matter who you are. There are pressures from all sides—sellers, agents, lawyers, lenders, family. People's livelihood and in some cases their lives may depend on real estate transactions.

With CBI you'll have all the support needed to understand the current condition of the dwelling, and how to make a better. We will walk step-by-step through the report with you. We expect questions. We encourage questions.  Even if they come up 6 months, a year, 10 years down the road or whatever and you don't know who to call, call us. CBI is here to help you.

Thank you for reading.

Ken

Ken Whitelaw,

ken@inspectingchicago.com

CBI, Inc.

Office: 312INSPECT

www.inspectingchicago.com

Quippy Quips

"I no longer turn blood into ink. These days I turn whiskey into journalism."- Ted Wallace - The Hippopotamus 2020

Get yer Shot. Save a Life. 10.14.2021

To everyone who has put others before you, thank you.

To y'all others, unless you have a legit medical reason not to, get yer fuckin' shot. Religious, personal choice, laziness are selfish, stupid and ignorant excuses not to do so. You're potentially killing someone, someone you probably know, someone you may deeply care about. WTF is wrong with you?

You likely saw some stupidity on FB or Twitter or insta or SC or YT or wherever and that was the extent of your research. You blithely or wholeheartedly  concurred with some manipulative fuckwad telling you exactly what you wanted to hear. With the global realization that social networks push information to garner revenue and not facts, that their best interest supercedes yours, y'all should (should!) begin to understand you are being manipulated by the very thing you chose. 

If you think that something having a time-proven, empirically positive track record is bad for you because you heard it from some bullet-headed podcastor, an ex-playboy bunny, Senator Grandpa Munster, or some other red-faced jagoff screaming into a microphone, you are dangerously ill-informed.

You believe a liar/snake-oil salesman that horseworm medication is actually better than the that which people a thousand times smarter than him, you or me have proven effective? WTFIWWY? Get yer shot.

Humanity 09.23.21

I was sitting at the stoplight at Division and Austin. Muse was playing Hysteria. Aside from the fact that this is one of my all-time favorites songs, there's a particular hook that happens twice in the song, if you know the song you know what I'm talking about. ...just so much fun to play on air guitar.

Anyway, I'm sitting at division and Austin rocking Hysteria, and that hook comes up and I'm rocking out. 

As I'm rocking out, I look to my left and there's a guy sitting in front of a laundromat having as much fun as I am watching me rock out.

Seeing him laughing, then turning back into the laundromat obviously saying to the person or people inside, "Hey, y'all gotta see this!", I yell to him as he turns back to me, "Dude, it's a really good song."

He yells back, "I can see that!"

Today was a good day. 

What does Anachroism Mean? or I think I Made a New Word

I was making a comment online and I used the term "print" instead of "publish". ...an anachronistic use of a verb that I caught upon editing. I wanted to use the term "anachroism" to give a name to my habit (malady) of doing so and learned that it's not a word, until now.

a·nach·ro·ism

/əˈnakro,izəm/ 

A linguistic condition characterized by archaic terminology references in speech.

What Makes a Good Rooftop Deck?

Question

Hi Ken,

I have a question: would you happen to have a picture of what a good roof deck looks like? One that you can properly assess?

We really want a place with a rooftop deck, but we can't tell a make-shift bad one, from a make-shift good one.

Thanks, Joe

Answer

Hello Joe,

Thank you for your email.

What you're asking is way too subjective and open to a universe of interpretation. So the short answer is no. But I can provide you with some information regarding what to consider.

Roof Structure

First and foremost, the underlying roof structure must be capable of supporting the deck's weight. This should be determined by a qualified structural engineer. Where necessary, your design/build firm should be able to provide this determination/service, as well as ensuring the deck and its attendant components comply with local municipal building codes.

Traditional Wooden Lumber Decks

Traditional wood lumber decks, because of material cost, are the most common. These can be constructed with pergolas, terraces, etc. to enhance their function and aesthetic. Generally, traditional wood lumber decks are not modular in design.

A Basic Wooden Rooftop Deck

Walking Surface

Ideally, the walking surface should be modular so that it can be removed to provide access to the underlying roof for assessment, maintenance, and repair.

As far as materials go, it can be anything. Modular deck systems are constructed of wood, concrete or other masonry, composite materials, etc. These are aesthetic choices that can be combined to create differing, delineated areas. Aside from being modular, the only other criteria should be weather resistance and maintenance requirements. Modular deck systems generally are designed to be and utilize materials that are weather resistant.

A Modular Tile Deck System

A Modular Wooden Deck System

Build-Out/Design

Your deck design is limited only by your imagination, your wallet, municipal building code, and the structural capacity of the underlying roof structure. This is where a qualified design-build firm can help.

A Rooftop Deck Using Multiple Walking Surfaces

Chicago has a number of quality rooftop deck design/build firms. Their websites are a great starting point for design ideas. I would start here:

Chicago Roof Top Deck Designers

I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Kind regards, Ken

Ken Whitelaw,

Chicago Building Inspections, Inc.

http://inspectingchicago.com

ken@inspectingchicago.com

312-INSPECT (467.7328)

Mobile: 773.350.2325

...where I'm at, 11/20/2020

Greetings fellow Earthlings,

To state the obvious, what we've been dealt with vis-à-vis the current political environment goes way beyond any party line. What we've experienced is not unlike the beginnings of single-minded, abusive governing by a wannabe despot. 

There are people who will always agree with Trump, et al., and his incendiary rhetoric. ...wanting nothing more than the eradication of anything they perceive as un-American, including but not limited to everything Obama, non-white people, personal choice, truth, science, the Golden Rule, etc. 

These subhumans will not disappear but will once again go underground, waiting for the next Hitler-like wannabe to once again prey on human insecurity, fomenting hatred and violence against what most of us know in our hearts to be good, true, and right.

I recently read a thought by someone that maybe DJT will leave for Florida for the holidays and never come back to the WH.

That's what I want for Christmas.

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Keep you Powder Dry

This slow burn towards fascism that's happening in our country has completely unnerved me. I awoke this morning with a feeling of dread, due to what is taking place in Portland and the implication that it has on my new home town of Chicago. Portland, Chicago... Where next will our Nazi-loving, subhuman president send troops to seek his crown? While I agree in principle of the use of federal force to quell criminal violence, it's use to stifle peaceful protests, a right we are given by the Constitution of the United States, scares the shit out of me. The only thing I can think of doing is to keep my powder dry, and I've never felt this way before. Mr. President, you have irrevocably ruined my country, our country. I am saddened, angry and don't know what to do.