Saturday, June 11, 2011

A mellow reaction

Usually when a price increase letter hits the street in our industry it elicits a ton of action. No maybe I am distracted (probably) but this latest round of letters seemingly didn’t bring the angst that normally shows up. Now I don't believe this is a clue on the acceptance or success of the letter but it is interesting to me that it doesn’t or at least in my opinion, hasn’t been the be all, end all that it used to be. As for the increases, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all, especially given everything that has been happening both in our little world and also everywhere else.

Elsewhere…

-- And if anyone was brave enough to read the national news this week I guess you could see why this increase letter pales. The Dow had another horrid week, now dropping below 12,000. Home equity is now near a record low and the whole employment outlook continues to look ugly. Not a pretty week and that didn’t even include the Twittering congressman…

-- The good news of the week actually happened last Saturday and I should’ve posted it then but blew it… and of course the subject of the good news thought I would and was bummed when he read my blog and it wasn’t mentioned. My son Zach played the game of his life (scored an awesome goal) and his team won a local 10 & Under Hockey title. Very happy for him and his team, and just a thrill to watch your kid achieve and succeed!

-- Ok back to reality… ha ha…. A great post this week on LinkedIn about the fact that LinkedIn’s growth in popularity is because of the tough economy and the fact people are losing their jobs and need to network for that more than anything. It was a case made even more dramatic when a headhunter posted a group of openings on LinkedIn and by nightfall his e mail box was full and website crashed.

-- PPG announced that they have surpassed the 94 million square foot mark in shipments of Solarban 70XL. Congrats to Glenn Miner and the team on the accomplishment, and looking back I know there were a lot of naysayers about the about the potential of that product when it was launched, but there’s no doubt that it’s been a hit.

-- And while we’re propping the primaries, a big group of kudos to Guardian on the launch of their new InGlass program. With a very cool new website and some very interesting products and plans, this should be a very exciting program to watch.


-- Am I the only one who gets mad when the newscaster gleefully announces gas prices have dropped a whole penny? I know everyone wants good news, but a penny?

-- If you haven’t checked out the latest issue of Glass Magazine, you need to. The annual look at the top 50 Glaziers is the cover story and of course it is something everyone looks forward to and once again the gang delivered the goods. And yes I am biased but the magazine has been absolutely on a roll in the last several months.

-- Last this week, normally this would be in the links, but it is too pertinent to what we do in our world. It’s the whole “glass steps” debate and the fact that it brings a lot more issues to mind then people may realize. Personally I have never been a fan of glass steps, to me it was never worth the safety for some sort of chic style. Check out the coverage HERE.

LINKS of the WEEK

-- Funny piece on how a law in France makes it illegal for the media to mention Facebook and Twitter.

-- Great story that I know my brother Steve will love… what it truly costs to chase your dreams on American Idol.

-- I got this one from a few people and it’s pretty simple… if you have to constantly be on your phone or texting, then going to the movies is the wrong choice. And this theater in Austin (where they like it weird anyway) has a blast with it.

VIDEO of the WEEK

This video is only 5 seconds long but you will click it a few times… it’s Shania Twain falling as she walks to the stage at last week’s CMT awards. No doubt she may be embarrassed but she’ll just look in the mirror and realize she’s Shania Twain, so what does it matter…

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