Wicked Winter!

Last week I had a quick note on the weather but that was before yet another huge storm paralyzed major parts of the country. There’s no doubt the improvement in our economic sector is taking a beating thanks to the nasty whims of Mother Nature. The big issue is all of this time is truly lost- just a killer as businesses try and keep moving forward. Now this week a warming trend is coming which means flooding and messy, wet, and uninhabitable jobsites. After that it will be hurricane season before you know it. I wonder if all of the analysts take into account the negative effect the weather has on our world and if this uneven start to 2011 will delay the great prosperity that so many (including me) see for the year end.

Elsewhere…

-- Another offshoot of the weather…. I now actually watch and enjoy The Weather Channel in the morning. I am becoming a weather geek… but seriously its good mindless stuff to start the day instead of the traditional morning fare.

-- Recently Guardian launched a new version of the corporate website and I must say they hit a home run with the makeover. Great use of “mega” drop down boxes and just a great choice in images on the landing page. Kudos to the gang there for a job well done! Also I am hearing they will add a blog to that site as well that will make it even more a must visit type of site.

-- Found it hilarious that the NFRC blog is now accepting comments on their site. Just a few years ago when I was hammering away at them weekly, I was vilified for my medium. Now NFRC not only does meetings on line, but keeps a blog and now finally is offering a forum. So while I was unable to stop them from pushing a terrible program down our throats, I believe I did force them into the new century media wise.

-- Saw that Jed Bush will be the keynote speaker during the Spring meeting for the Aluminum Association and the Aluminum Extruders Council. Hey maybe they can enlist Jed to keep the vinyl people at bay and get aluminum more accepted amongst the green world… well then again wrong political party for all that. Still a great get for those guys. And I wonder if Jed Bush will be as in awe of Dr. Tom Culp as I am.

-- Congrats to PPG for getting a 3 million dollar grant for their Solar program. Proves solar is not dead and actually far from it. And it’s been a big week for PPG, a grant and a mention from President Obama. But obviously getting pub on this blog is the biggest thrill…ha ha ha

-- So which Super Bowl commercial did you like? I loved the Dorito dog commercial and enjoyed the Pepsi Max jogger one too. I also thought the Eminem one for Detroit/Chrysler was strong. But probably the best for me was the Car Max one that showed an old fashioned gas station with all of the attendants working the car and the terrified driver crying “I’m being carjacked!” Classic. (And it is the video of the week too so see or click below) All in all though I probably didn’t enjoy the commercials as much since I was so into the game…

LINKS of the WEEK

-- This is wild technology… a text message that self destructs after a certain amount of time… and named after the one guy who really could’ve used it… Tiger Woods…

-- You know all of those “cash for guns” or “gifts for guns” promotions out there so less guns will be on the streets and in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them? Well this promotion surely takes the cake… speechless.

-- Tiny office cubicles… not fun… plus I sure hope this isn’t the “remodeling” growth we are looking for.

VIDEO of the WEEK

The commercial I thought was best at the Super Bowl from Car Max….