Sunday, October 07, 2012

A Great Resource


This past week the AIA put out a tremendous document (86 pages!) on integrating energy modeling in the design process.  The reason this is so exciting is because it’s a very thorough examination of everything that the designer needs to know to push the envelope energy wise. Quite frankly, that NEEDS to happen.   Plus the benefit for us as an industry is higher end, value added products will have a better chance to get through the specification process AND through the bidding adventures without getting value engineered out.   And with that the designer will now have (if they follow the criteria) some weight behind them with facts & figures pulled on the buildings energy performance.  And yes I know this sort of design process has been happening for years, but this document gives it a chance to be main stream and somewhat standardized.  Kudos to the AIA for an excellent job.  If you want a copy (and you should) it can be found here.

Elsewhere

--  A Happy Thanksgiving to my friends in Canada… can’t believe its already here… blink your eyes and the US version will be here in a second.

--  Am I the only one bummed out to know that every other industry can cut corners left and right and have no blowback?  I have written about bags of dog food that mysteriously get smaller (but for same price) and now I experienced it with a kitchen faucet.  After 11 years, our faucet needed replaced- we went to get the same model, and after we installed it we noticed it was smaller, thinner, and just shoddy overall.  Same model, and surely wasn’t cheaper.   

--  Gotta give credit to Jeff Razwick and the gang at TGP.  They have been effectively using social media all year, and this past week Jeff used their blog in probably the best way possible.  He wrote an informative, magazine like piece on code trade offs.  Good, healthy content.  Well done.

--  Congrats to Viracon and all the folks back to work in Stateboro, GA.  A lot of people thought when Viracon suspended operations there to do upgrades that the plant would never re-open.  Great to see it has!

--  The Canada Border Service Agency ended its look into alleged Chinese dumping of unitized curtain wall after not finding enough evidence to go forward.  I have to admit I am stunned.  I don’t know enough of the ins and outs of the investigation, but this surely was an interesting turn.

--  March 31st, 2012- I picked the Yankees to beat the Nationals in the World Series, right here on this blog.  Now that is stunning that I am even that close to a pick being right!!  Now that the playoffs are here, I do like that match up to happen, but will say beware the Tigers and their pitching, and also maybe this is the year “Moneyball” wins with the upstart A’s. 

--  Last this week we had freeze warnings in Michigan and I believe snow fell in the west… winter is knocking on the door.  Dang.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Teachers and students embroiled in a sex scandal that turned even wilder with a cover up.  Isn’t this some sort of TV show?  Yeesh.

--  A story about a treadmill order gone very wrong… though I still laugh about calls that come in at 8AM as “early” as in my college years that was really early, but now?  8AM is like mid-day!

--  Bad News/Good News sort of story… home gets broken in to, stuff gets stolen… cops though track the material via an APP and find the crooks… and they are stuck in the mud..  throw the book at em!!!


VIDEO of the WEEK

I am not sure what this whole “Gangham Style” dance craze is, but was sent this video of a baby that only eats when it hears the music.

  


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