Absolute zero?(STONE COLUMN)(Column)

OK, so "absolute zero" is actually a scientific term unrelated to the business world. These past few months, I often feel like it is the level of business in today's stone industry--or perhaps the latest closing figure for the stock market (as in "The Dow closed today at absolute zero.")

Seriously, when I ask people what kind of business people are doing, many of them say, "Absolutely nothing. No one is coming to the phone, and no one is buying anything." So does that mean that people walk into their office, sit down and fruitlessly attempt to sell stone until 5 o'clock every day? I know business is bad these days--extremely bad--but has it reached the point of …