I see the future...

There are a lot of people out there who don’t see solar products as a great future entity- especially in our industry. However I think solar products will have a significant effect and today 18,000 people on the floor of the Solar Power International show agreed with me. This trade show was jam packed, making me remember the days of the old Builders Shows that cramped the aisles. There is no question that a thirst for knowledge on the solar products exists and also no doubt that we as an industry are still working out the answers. Smart companies like Weaver’s Glass of Harrisburg, PA were on the floor doing research. Those folks are getting ahead of the curve. Anyway at the end of the day I believe this material will be in our world in some make or fashion, so get prepared….

Also the show was a throwback to better days too. Booth’s had giveaways and get this- SPOKESMODELS! There were professional spokesmodels everywhere (all the ones I talked to asked me if my brother was at the show…) and if anything shows that people are spending money, it’s a tradeshow stocked with spokesmodels. Something tells me in 2 weeks at GreenBuild we won’t see many professional models dressed up as sexy Royal Canadian Mounties (yes, seriously) on the floor, or else the green architects will probably have massive heart attacks.

Elsewhere…

-- Also on the floor at SPI, our pals from Solutia. What a great company but really the reason they are as good as they are is they have easily some of the best people around. They are like an all-star team over there. Also I was going to stop in at Cardinal’s booth but was afraid there might be my picture on the wall saying “Do not talk to this blogger”

-- Oh and comically, the show being held AFTER this Solar show is the “Disaster Prevention” show. Man isn’t that what we all do daily anymore? Maybe I should stay for that and I can lead a seminar.

-- URGENT! GANA is doing a free webinar on November 4th to update you on the world of code changes within ASTM and ASHRAE and so on. It’s scheduled for an hour and quite frankly it’s a must. Get up to speed from the experts and sign up for the webinar now. You can reserve your seat at the meeting by clicking HERE. If you are in this business, then you NEED to know what’s going on with these codes because it WILL affect you.

-- By the way speaking of ASHRAE, I saw a poll on line about it- and the question was something along the lines of how do you think the ASHRAE moves will affect you. 51% said negatively, 2% said positively (they need their heads examined) and the rest basically did not know anything about it. So in simple terms it’s scary when ½ the industry doesn’t know what’s going on and the other half who goes is against it… yikes.

-- Speaking of scary, I really though Brett Favre was going to lead the Vikings to win vs. the Steelers late in the game Sunday…

-- By the way folks, if you are doing your budgets for next year, please budget to be at BEC. I may have moved on (which is probably a good thing) as host, but the show will still be awesome. In fact I have every confidence that my good friend Henry Taylor of Kawneer has an incredible conference lined up. Add in the networking- which is a must during tougher times- and you have an event not to be missed.

-- Cool thing to look at… check out this link.. it’s a glass spec from 1910! Somehow I think there are still a few architects that are using it… or only updated it to add Spectrum, Interpane and Polarpane as suppliers…

-- One final note on Solar… a great blog item HERE on the differences on doing solar business in California and Texas… Shockingly (sarcasm intended) Texas is better!!! Yep, a state that is not over regulated and over wrought is better for things… stunner… I hate to bag on California but my bitterness comes from the NFRC and California and the desire to bring California over-regulation to the rest of the world… and just curious what state is healthier now economy wise? Job wise? Hmmmmmmm (disclosure, I have always been partial to Texas anyway- big fan of many people there- but wow when you do the comparisons, Texas surely does rule)

Off to the links…

The hardest working chick in the business is back with more cool links…. “Link Chick” take it away..

-- Yep, the Chinese drywall issue took another turn… now insurance companies will cover…

-- Losing a big soccer game because of a beach ball on the field?

-- If being 5’10” and 120 pounds is overweight… my gosh I can’t even think of the term they’d use for me… anyway this model got fired for somehow being “overweight”…wrong…

Video of the Week:

Last week was the awesome hockey goal… this week it’s a very cool, and VERY long soccer goal… check it out…


SMU Freshman hits 95-yard Soccer Goal @ Yahoo! Video

30/30 was Dirty/Dirty!

Well the good ole 30/30 was back in the news this week. As you may remember when the 30/30 provision was snuck into the “Stimulus” earlier this year I railed pretty hard against it. (The 30/30 is the short name for a residential window program that can give up to $1500 in tax credits for windows that meet a .30 shading coefficient and .30 U value) Basically creating a one size fits all window program for a country that is FAR from being one size fits all lacked any and all logic. Amazingly it looks like more people agreed with me and now Washington is working on changing the program. All I can do now is laugh, as when it came out I was told how great the 30/30 was and how it was going to “save” the industry. Yep…it’s saving the industry just like the stimulus is saving jobs… ooops… but seriously no one with a clue could think that this was a good program right? It was snuck into the legislation at 3AM and no one with any insight or experience into the industry was consulted on it. My fellow blogger over at the awesome DWM (Door and Window Manufacturer Magazine) Jim Plavecsky had a tremendous take that I strongly recommend you check out HERE.

Elsewhere…

-- Yep sorry to go political but my gosh it sure gets frustrating…. And believe me I can go on and on and on… but we’ll save all of you from that wrath…

-- I saw the big coverage of McGraw Hill’s Outlook conference last week and the headlines all over was construction growth… (Most people trumpeted the 11% “growth”) but when I read inside the numbers it told me a different story… Commercial building is going down 4%, Institutional down another 2% and manufacturing buildings will go down 14%.... the “growth” comes from public works, utility construction, and residential. So while I am thrilled residential is slated to come back, the unfortunate part of the story is that the commercial industry could have another ugly year ahead.

-- Big game in the NFL this weekend… will the Vikings continue their amazing run? This week will be a tough test for Favre and the boys in Pittsburgh… and by the way I like Brett Favre for one reason… I am older than him, but he looks like 25 years older than me, so that makes me feel good. (He may be a great player, but I age better!!)

-- Congrats to Tom Huff and the gang from Mr. Go Glass as they were awarded the “Outstanding Outreach Award by the Delaware Department of Highway Safety” for promoting highway safety and awareness. They are a class company and I like to always prop folks that do things that put our industry in a positive light! Plus I have a soft spot for the family run business… good work folks!

-- I’m a big fan of Chris Mammen, owner of M3 Glass technologies… more so now when you read this blog post of his on the need for people to get involved in the on-going code battles in our industry. Good stuff… and good advice, if you don’t listen to a hack like me, listen to him…

-- I got this story from a bunch of people.. it’s the classic shower door glass “blowing” up that the local TV stations just love to cover. The reason most people sent it to me was they are convinced it has to be Chinese glass… but the funny thing I took from it was that the glass shop guy HAD to be misquoted when he said he didn’t think tempered glass could break…

-- Last, welcome to yet another new Blogger… Rick Kalson is now keeping a blog with a focus on the legal arena. Rick has spoken at a few BEC’s, is a member of GANA and a true blue supporter of our industry and a good guy. And full disclosure, I played youth basketball with Rick and was sure he’d be the next Kevin McHale… but I guess being a legal eagle is not bad either…

Off to the links:

The “Link Chick” was on FIRE this week… some really cool linkage for you to check out below…

-- Check out the medals for the 2010 Winter Olympics…. Ummm aren’t they supposed to be round?

-- You know how you keep hearing that the Mayan’s say the world will end in 2012? Well now they say that’s not the case… Funny piece here as they have much bigger priorities than the earth’s demise. Actually the world ends when I become an NFRC Board member.

-- Insurance companies dropping Chinese drywall policies… sad stuff for people who got stuck with houses with this toxic junk in it.

-- Patrick Patterson, the true blue stud of “Lex Vegas” aka University of Kentucky, is a good man. Wow compare his deed to those of the other team in the state of Kentucky.. what a difference.

Video of the Week:

Last week’s video was Jamie Kennedy and the pool.. soon after I featured it, he broke up with his girlfriend Jennifer Love Hewitt… hmmm could it be a “From the Fabricator” love jinx? Anyway this week’s video is awesome, probably the most amazing shoot out goal you will ever see… and it was by a 9 year old! Could we be watching the next Sid Crosby here? Even if you don’t like hockey, give this video a whirl…

Not taking the "LEED"

Every once in a while I get reminded of things that frustrate me. Actually that happens pretty much daily these days. My temper is stupidly short and it’s driving me crazy. Anyway that’s my problem, not yours. The issue at hand today is LEED and the value that it is “supposed” to add to a project. I was sent this interesting article on LEED and it really got me going. You know what its crazy how much power this thing has. I have mentioned in passing on past posts that many people think I should spend more time talking about LEED then ripping the NFRC and you know what I think they may be right. But for the time being I think the bloom is coming off the LEED rose. Building owners are going to surely want more from their building than a big gigantic plaque on the wall and if LEED’s changes don’t deliver that it surely will be interesting on how this thing progresses in a tough market.

Elsewhere…

-- By the way, can anyone answer how 500 miles is the “magic” distance in the LEED world? As a biddy mentioned to me, why 500 and not 400 or 600? What’s the science?

-- Speaking of LEED, correction here- last week’s post about Kawneer’s LEED blog attributed the column to Les Seasholtz, it was actually written by Eddie Bugg. Sorry for that, always want to give credit where credit due.

-- And last on this… for this week anyway… anyone going to GreenBuild? Hey at least it’s Phoenix in November and considering it’s already winter in the Midwest that’s an enticement for sure.

-- Saw the excellent article/interview with Tom Harris on USGNN last week. No doubt this is a good man, class act and someone who will surely be heard from again in our industry. You have to have a ton of respect for what he’s accomplished that’s for sure.

-- NFRC… its election time and guess what… they have 4 seats open and 4 candidates running! Now that’s an election baby! Just when you think this group has turned the corner some (John Lewis) they screw it up and can’t have a normal election…(hmmm I wonder why?) A few years ago when we were fighting for change the NFRC election had the most candidates and most votes ever… then they kept the status quo- we couldn’t get traction (for obvious reasons- like having Marcia Falke run in a category that should be fabricators) and now you have a totally worthless election… yep somewhere Marc LaFrance still thinks this group represents a consensus of our industry despite the fact no one wants anything to do with it because it will never be able to be changed. Anyone with a hint of logic knows better…. Anyway I am telling everyone to vote for Mr Abstain…. Afterall “abstain” almost won a few years ago….

-- Funniest part for me is TRACO keeps their seat that Mike Manteghi held for the last few years by sending his co worker Sneh Kumar. Just remember when you get caught in the NFRC mess what company helped push it…. And don’t worry I’ll remind you if you forget. And I know people at TRACO hate me, they share that with everyone out there… and that’s fine but I sleep well at night that I fight hard for the industry I love. (And sadly I am sure I'll get in trouble for saying it, but this is MY opinion.....so when you get mad my TRACO buds, stay mad at me...)

-- Baseball is down to its “Final Four” and I gotta think the powers that be would kill for a Yankee/Dodger series… the ratings would be unreal. Now if they could get the games to last less than War & Peace it would be really awesome.

-- Does the stock market amaze you? Over 10,000 and yet credit still virtually frozen and unemployment is rampant. Just very odd… I am not an econ guy so I just don’t get why certain things happen. But this one is pretty mystifying to me.

-- My “favorite” Senator Olympia Snowe was all over the news this week… beware folks, wait til she throws in some goofy provision in the health care reform at 3AM because someone told her it was a good idea… scary how much power some people have…

-- I swear I’ll be in a better mood next week! If not I may be sleeping on the back porch.

Off to the Links….

Links from the hardest working woman in the blog-world… the “Link Chick”…

-- Want Yankee tickets? Mortgage the house… twice…. Great piece here about greed and loyalty.

-- Pet Bear kills a woman…. Ummm since when did a Bear become a pet?

-- MUST READ.. the Top 10 “Bubbles” due to burst… #1 on the list is good and bad….

Video of the Week:

This week the video comes via my brother…. Very funny and crude that’s for sure… not sure I’d belong to this club…

Staying on top of it...

First up, response has been solid to the call for action from GANA on the whole ASHRAE issue but there’s still some people who have not weighed in… seriously if you haven’t jumped in on this, you need to. If you don’t care about losing work, then good for you, but for the rest of us in the real world, getting involved in this issue is an absolute must. Last week GANA presented their argument at subcommittee hearings in Atlanta and things went well, but this is only the start, we are still nowhere near to being out of the woods yet. Get involved. Plus, the people doing the talking right now, namely Stanley Yee and Helen Sanders are spectacular. They are not conspiratorial hacks like yours truly. They are top notch, classy and intelligent professionals who we are blessed to have speaking for us. Throw in the efforts of everyone else on the GANA energy committee and you have a group worthy of your support. Get with GANA today.
Plus knowing that GANA's Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell is a fan of "24" gives me confidence that she has some Jack Bauer qualities that we need representing us!

Elsewhere…

-- Last week my post was not linked, so if you missed it, keep paging down. There are people who got props in that post who deserve the heads up the blog just gave them (and to reach the whole audience!)

-- Still little movement covering the credit crisis in this country BUT the Wall Street Journal did have an op-ed on it last week. Great piece here on this whole debacle that somehow is getting little to no coverage.

-- What a week for fans of Minnesota sports teams… Monday the Vikes win a big one (They sacked the Packer QB so many times that I think I even saw Garret Henson get one or two) Tuesday the Twins win an amazing playoff game vs the Tigers and then the Wild cap off the night with a 4-3 win after being down 3-0. Karma is rolling in the twin cities direction that’s for sure.

-- Leftover from the GlassBuild show… heard some good things… the biggest is “quality over quantity” of visitors and that’s usually the case in Atlanta anyway. The people who go to Atlanta usually go because they have to… the people who go to Vegas (when it’s there) go because they “want” to. I also heard that the Walker Texture booth was jam packed but those guys stopped returning phone calls and e-mails from me, they are now big time and will only talk to accredited media… not bloggers.

-- The Kawneer blog had a great take on LEED… or LEEDS… or LEDD… or whatever you want to call that famous green building program. It is comical how people look at it and try to communicate it and Eddie Bugg did a nice job breaking it all down as it’s one thing to get the jist of the program, but it’s another to actually call the program by its proper name…. (and in some parts of the world they call it “rip off” but that’s another story… for another time)

-- Congrats to Guardian for the coverage of their ShowerGuard product on “Bathtastic”… I love it when our industry gets positive press and this surely was. This is not the first time ShowerGuard has appeared on TV, so it’s pretty cool the coverage continues to come their way.

-- Last, a tremendous addition to the blog world in Chuck Knickerbocker. He brings some great experience and passion to our fair medium and I think you will enjoy his insights. In case you missed it, his debut post ran on Wednesday and is HERE.

Book of the Week:

On Rocky Top by Clay Travis- First if you are a fan of the University of Tennessee football, then you probably already read this. If not it’s a must. But if you are just a college football fan and you want a really cool and unique inside look at a major college program about to go through big changes, this book is it. What “Season on the Brink” was to hoop, this book is to football… good stuff…

Off to the Links:

The “Link Chick” came through yet again… here’s some of her best of the week…

-- I’m a casual guy but this lawyer who wants to wear jeans and a baseball hat in court is waaaay too casual for me…

-- Not only did the “Link Chick” send this to me, but so did several other people… it’s about how Detroit is so broke that we can’t bury our dead… yep I live here…

-- The Empire State Building honored China last week… oh yippee….


Video of the Week:

From old friend and co worker John Lang…. ah dating in the 60’s with a bit of cluelessness…. funny stuff...