I think that I do owe an apology to Mr. Riddle for taking the word of Jahn
in vain in a public forum. From now on, I will be very careful to use only
the term "proprietary patching compound" (PPC), which can refer to Jahn,
Sika, Abatron, System 45, Rockhard, and ParrotPatch (TM).

For the record, I last saw the work in place at Biltmore on October 28. I
talked today with my project contact, and asked him about any recent repairs
that have improved the work. To date, there have been two installers
involved with this work. To his knowledge, the first installer was
"approved" (he is going to double check on this). Otherwise, how could they
have gotten through Cathedral Stone's state-of-the-art security? The second
"approved" installer was called in to repair the very bad installation (the
flaking patches, the oatmeal) by installer #1. With the exception that some
of the worst patches have not been repaired yet, what I saw in October
included many of the repairs. And I still think that they stink (well, not
technically since to my knowledge there is no guano in Jahn mortars).

According to my project contact, installer #2 insists that they've had
better success with coming back later and staining the patches to match the
adjacent stone. (I am still a bit wary of this approach on a wearing
surface). They claim that by tinting the mortar there is more risk of
failure. (What does Larrey say?) Biltmore says that the second installer has
been very responsive and is committed to making the repairs right. (Well,
that's about all you can ask for. Around here, if the subcontractor just
even shows up on time with all his tools, you hire him).

I will reserve final judgement for when the patches have been completed,
stained and finished. Then I will report to the BP my glowing testimonial of
this "proprietary patching compound". Maybe I'll also report back in a few
years (assuming we still are all here), and reveal how well the patches are
wearing. I'll make a note in my calendar.

Those are the facts that I was dealing with. I didn't bother to check them
before because I am basically a very trusting and naive person. If someone
tells me something, and I don't have any reason to doubt the source, I will
accept that information at face value. Now, when a mason tells me he can
make a good limestone patch with Rockhard and parrot guano....

Of course, I have other issues to discuss regarding my own professionalism
and technical knowledge (or lack thereof), but I'll keep that for later
after I've had my eggnog.

However, as for my official required disclaimer, I regret that it creeps in
occasionally. I need to take it off automatic for the BP list. Again for the
record, my involvement with BP is in no way related to my office, section,
division or department. I've had to deal with this for 12 years. If I say
anything in public, no matter what its related to, someone, somewhere is
going to say "Hey, doesn't he work for the state? Is this official policy?"
Anybody got ideas for witness protection for bureaucrats?

If I couldn't say what I thought on BP, I would leave the list. This is what
makes it entertaining and informative. I'm more than willing to get blasted
by reps and my peers in the interest of sparking a good thread of
conversation. I've worked for the state for 12 years and I've got a thick
hide.

Oh, by the way Larrey, where are my free product samples?

Byur O. Crat