Mail Bag 7-2-07 (Brian Speaks)

Just wanted to say how wonderful I thought your podcast was this week. I particularly enjoyed your continuous references to me. However, ifI'm going to critique it, I must say I was quite disappointed that thecigar and wine scale wasn't judged by "How many Brian's would you ratethis wine/cigar?". You missed a golden opportunity. Also, to clarify, code requirements for stairs (indoor) is 7" maximumrise (the height of the step) and 11" minimum run (the length of thestep), not 9". Outdoors it varies, but generally is a 4-6" rise (makesfor a more gentle step in bad weather conditions) and between 12-22"run. We can talk about ramps next time. In the meantime, check outthis link for "universal design" in homes, which eliminates all stairsin homes as well as other design changes to aid people of all ages andabilities. Therefore, it is my antithesis. I am the MC Escher of thearchitectural world... http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/a2004-03-23-whatis_univdesign.html As for your talk on serving countries more in need than ours andspreading goodwill and love through our , I thought you guys would find this video from the church that I attend particularly poignant. Lastyear, 300 people traveled to Mamelodi, South Africa, built homes,planted gardens, played with children and spread love to the people ofthe poorest area of South Africa. This year, there are two trips and atotal of 600 (!) people making the trip. The next wave of volunteersare heading out this week. And by the way, the church funded NONE of the trip for all 600. Everything was raised through local donations. Quite a story... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRdS0T0X7_M&mode=related&search= Sincerely,Brian