Understanding the Codes

The International Code Council committee hearings have been going on for the last week and usually its pretty newsworthy.  The question though for me is... have the moves taking place this week been good or bad for our industry?  So far I honestly haven’t been able to ascertain exactly how we will end up after this latest cycle.  And reading various reports and e-mails from people at the hearings has me even more confused.  So I’ll sit on this one, get more clarity and report in the next week or two.  Needless to say it is VERY important that we ALL get a clear idea of what happened there because it WILL have an effect on our industry.

Elsewhere…

--  Good news/bad news on the latest Architectural Billings Index (ABI) as the number was down, but is still in the positive territory.  Now the key is to watch how this progresses but this gives us a flavor for next year, and the verdict about 2014 has been mixed lately, some expecting growth and others calling for a downturn.

--  I’m a little late on this one, but major congrats to PPG on their new online Education Center.  It’s a treasure trove of great info and the layout is spectacular.  Kudos to Rob Struble, Glenn Miner and the entire team that worked on it.  Well done!!

--  Speaking of education, the Glass Management Institute is now open for registration and I urge you to look at the link and consider taking the course.  Yes I am biased as I am teaching one of the courses, but I truly believe in this effort, and think the other courses and instructors are simply off the hook and worth your attention.  Check it out… and be prepared I’ll be pestering you more about it as we get closer!

--  Anyone have any clue what the whole “Google Glass” adventure is?  Not sure I want my website up in my eyes… what am I missing?

--  Last this week… Blackberry fans (like me) are becoming more and more rare but evidently the new phone (with the physical keyboard) that Blackberry is coming out with could give them momentum.  Last week it got a great review in the Wall Street Journal. I for one remain hopeful because I will stick with that brand til the end.   My fat little fingers need that keyboard!

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Cool piece on using Twitter for the search.

--  Great story on Chinese reporter covering the Earthquake that interrupted her wedding.

--  Up here for the laughs…

VIDEO of the WEEK

Quick thinking TV weather person here when the automated camera goes haywire….