Madness March

It's that time of year again.

I seem incapable of watching tournament basketball without thinking back to the 2004 Olympics.  Wikipedia refers to the US men's team of that year as "The Nightmare Team".  Why?  Because they lost in the semi-finals to Argentina of all countries.  This, in spite of some real hot shots (at least in their own mind) on the roster.

I can't shake the memory of the interview of Argentina's captain, when he made the simple observation that "Basketball is a team sport".  Something our collection of prima donnas apparently failed to grasp.

In my No Left Turn newsletter of January 2010, I made the same observation about how this notion bears repeating to Design/Build team members.  Teamwork, I think, improves virtually any endeavor.  Will the men's and women's final four contenders demonstrate this capacity?

I'm glued to the TV.

How Many Bars?

Is it possible there has been a turn in our dismal economy?

In the last three months I have seen more RFP's and RFQ's than in the previous 18.

One posting service for jobs that I see every day shows 327 openings with the filter "Facilities".  There were times at the beginning of 2010 this same service had less than 50.  The latest unemployment rate is under 9% for the first time in eons.

Is money for construction becoming available?

In short, have we passed the nadir?  What's the signal strength in you cell zone?  We'd all like to know.  It's sure a more appealing thought than shoveling water.  I'm tired of that.