Bitter is the theme

OK, be prepared… its nasty and cynical down below. For some reason I am in a bad mood today, and sadly most of my posts reflect that. One frustration is on how for some reason glass gets less “love” from the green community than a product like vinyl. Isn’t vinyl made from Oil? Isn’t glass a recycled product, with technology pushing performances upward daily? I thought so… but ask someone in the green lobby and they scoff at the recycled nature of glass- even pushing parts of LEED away from glass. But oooooh Vinyl is great to them. So damn frustrating it’s not even funny. Seriously isn’t Oil a major part of vinyl? Why isn’t that a big issue? Aren’t we trying to wean ourselves from oil? They’ll be more on this in the weeks and months to come, but its just another area where the NFRC style of people who are out there making the most illogical assumptions ever.

Elsewhere…

-- You know I guess the economy is not so bad. Everyone I talk to is still going on vacation and in fact, when I went to go make dinner reservations for my trip to Disney next month, all the places we wanted were booked. So is this the mainstream media making much ado about nothing? At least in my mood right now it sure as heck seems like it.

-- That said I found it hilarious that the Energy Department announced that consumers can expect gas to stay at the $4 range for the next year. Considering its going up a few cents daily and up a buck from a year ago, how can they say that? Heck just last week analysts predicted $5 per gallon gas by the 4^th of July. The story today said they expect gas prices to peak at 4.15. I’ll believe it when I see it.

-- Saw USGNN’s report on the CSI show in Vegas and I must say I am pretty surprised. It’s amazing that the writer failed to mention in the glowing report that this show was seriously un-supported by major portions of our industry. If you did not know any better you may have thought this was a good show- (for our industry) which it wasn’t. Now I rarely, if ever, take USGNN on. I think the folks there are top notch- but on this one, I was bothered by the reporting. Bottom line to me is that review should’ve noted that once again the show did not feature about 85% of the industries best, and given some reasons why.

-- Yikes, If I get on the wrong side of USGNN, I'll running out of people that are on the right side.

-- I did get a kick out of the Freedonia study on Solar Control glass and its possible growth. I think about the folks at DOE who still believe no one uses Low E because “its too hard” and that’s why we need an NFRC type of group to push us. Simply comical this world we live in.

-- And bad news from the glazing world, as the owner of Lorain Glass Jack Kosman passed away last week. Lorain Glass is one of the best glazing operations in Ohio and I had the honor of working with Jack over the years. Our condolences go out to his family and friends. We have lost yet another good glass guy.

Picture of the week:

-- This greeted me in my driveway after the Wings won the cup… congrats to Detroit- Great effort and a great series.

Note the 4 plastic forks at the bottom- love the attention to detail!

Off to the LINKS:

-- Actress Susan Sarandon says she’ll leave the US if John McCain wins… you know nothing I hate more than actors who do stuff like this… they make a ton of money to do the simplest of jobs… and think that the world really cares about their opinion…. Its comments like hers that make people want to vote the for the opposite candidate!

-- And add John Cusack to that list… my gosh, the guy from the classic “Better Off Dead” is shilling for a candidate. (AND yes I would feel this way no matter which candidate was supported- I just can’t stand Hollywood’s arrogance)

-- Ah let the attack begin on bottled water! Oh and some of these bottles are made from Oil.. same as vinyl….

-- As someone who flies every week, this was an interesting look at some of the things the airlines are doing to become more efficient…

On a non bitter closing note… its Father’s Day weekend and if you saw the bottom of the Weds USGNN, they are looking for comments and stories on how special your father is. By all means you should do it, as time flies. If your father is alive, cherish it and don’t take it for granted. And if he works in the industry with you- that’s even better. It’s been 7 years since our dad passed away and not a day goes by where I (along with my brother, sister and mom) do not think of him. I am sure if he was around now he would just read my stuff and shake his head at my antics and comments and wonder where I came from. Anyway, just noting for the record, we miss you big guy, now and forever. And to those you Dad’s out there- have a great day this Sunday!