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There are some words in the building industry that seem to be clear and understandable to say, yet they need some help in understanding the depth of the meaning. When the term maintenance is talked about there seems to be some agreement that it does not mean building a new building. Maintenance as a term covers many areas and if not clarified could be interpreted to mean a lot of things. Entering into the maintenance vocabulary are some new words. One of the words that seems simple to talk about yet is hard to find a common definition for is the term "Sustainability." Another new word is "interoperability," which is sometimes referred as a technology term. Sustainability and interoperability are terms and definitions that help describe two additional terms that are impacting the profession: BIM-"Building Information Modeling" and TCO-"Total Cost of Ownership." The only way these two terms are made feasible is if the practice of sustainability and interoperability is not just a planted idea in the minds of an organization, but that steps are being taken to incorporate the terms into the core way in which management sees its role and vision as facilities managers. These terms, if taken on by any organization, must be understood as a "paradigm shift" and that everything that is currently being done needs to be seen through this new vision.

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert