The Great CrystalGrey Debate

As seen on USGNN Monday… The Star Tribune of Minneapolis ran a piece that was picked up on USGNN and Google Alerted all over the world about Viracon’s new product… CrystalGrey. Except they left out a huge part of the story… Viracon does not manufacture CrystalGrey, Guardian Industries does. The story was a baffling and misleading one to people who know our industry, as according to the article, somehow Viracon used 24 engineers to design a product that Guardian actually designed and created…. Hmm… 24 engineers? It also took those 24 engineers, according to the article, 5 years to produce this product for Viracon that was actually created and manufactured by Guardian… Man if I have stock in Apogee I am not happy that 24 engineers worked on a product that wasn’t even produced by their own company. Is that really efficient? OK, yes I am being sarcastic and catty, but my goodness this article was horrid. Whether it was a clueless writer or someone leading her astray, it was still very un-kosher. Viracon has a ton to be proud of… unlike some companies who bang their chest and place a press release every time they complete a job with less than a 6 figure back charge, Viracon actually can place a release everyday on something new, different and amazing. (Not to mention their cool new Google Map feature) I’ve even complimented them here many times and will continue to do so when applicable, but there was no way I could let this one pass- a story this misleading… no way. Funny thing is… pre-USGNN… no one outside the Twin Cities sees this… now the world does… meaning you have to keep that in mind… always.

By the way, I thought Guardian did a nice job and took the high road by issuing a basic and informative press release the next day on CrystalGrey. They could’ve noted what I did above about the misleading nature of the article but they did not. And granted they worked/consulted with Viracon to create this product and I am sure Viracon is a good customer for them, but no one woulda blamed them if they would’ve slapped back.

By the way I am going to call that writer from the Star Tribune and tell her I am aglow over my new invention…. The Blog. Yep, it’s like an on line diary that will change everything you do. I am really excited about it. I’ve had 30 software guys working round the clock to create this whole Blog thingee. It’s awesome.

Elsewhere…

-- So how many of you thought I’d be among the protesters who were trying (and sometimes succeeding) to put out the Olympic torch? Yes because of the policies of the oppressive Communist Chinese government, many more people are now more engaged in the ever growing problem with that country. And yes I know the Olympics are about the games and sportsmanship, but it’s pretty pathetic that people are trying to paint a cheery picture in the name of sport. Here’s hoping that the protests continue and maybe some meaningful action will take place.

-- Great news from the NFRC front… a note on their website states that John Hogan is no longer the Chair of the Certification Policy Committee.. meaning he is gone from the Board Ex Officio’s as well. Replacing him is Roland Temple of AZS Consulting. Hogan is a guy that always treated the commercial industry with disdain, believes that vinyl can be used in skyscrapers and somehow parlayed a gig for the City of Seattle into taking trips all over the world to promote stuff like NFRC… that last part still baffles me… In any case his departure is a good thing, add it with the voting out of Alecia Ward in the last election and two very anti-commercial glass industry people are gone. In Roland I think we will have someone who will at least listen and be fair. After all he works with Arlene Stewart and she is one of the few who disagree with people like me, but have at least taken the time to learn about what we do and keep lines of communication open to reach workable, logical conclusions. So maybe, this is another good step. Then again, it’s still the NFRC… and the CMA still looks everyday like the Titanic… so his addition may be too late to stop the ship before it hits the iceberg.

-- Going to see “21” this week… according to my mom, who sees every movie that comes out… it’s outstanding… BUT… she did not read the book and the big key is how true to the book it stays because “Bringing Down the House” is easily one of my Top 5 books of all time.

-- Sorry E on UNC…. Great title game though… Congrats to Kansas… I know Carol Land of GANA was pretty pleased, her e-mail now has a very happy Jayhawk logo adorned to it!

From the LINKS this week

-- Had this discussion at lunch… if the Democrats go to convention still in “toss up” mode, will their be a surprise in having Al Gore get the nom… well this link looks at the possibility… one I think could really happen

-- Speaking of Mr. Gore… is Global Warming on hold? See this article… and again this is similar to a link I had awhile back about Global Cooling…

Last- in case you did not stay up to watch “One Shining Moment” after the game Monday… here it is… well worth the watch if you are a hoop fan… and anytime you can get Bill Raftery saying “Onions!” in a video… its damn well worth it!