30/30 Vision

OK so the big news has been the shenanigans on the whole 30/30 issue. Now for me, the first time I heard 30/30 I thought it was a baseball term. Turns out the 30/30 was a sneakily put provision that made its way into the stimulus bill calling for residential windows to have less than a .30 U Factor and .30 Solar Heat Gain. If people “comply” with this, they can get up to a $1500 tax incentive or rebate. The problem is that years of work and organization on Energy Star for residential may have went up in smoke by doing a provision like this. See as you may be aware the weather and Low E and window needs are a weeeee bit different in many parts of our country- so doing a “once size fits all” makes no sense. There’s been lots of speculation on who was behind it (possibly a female Senator from the upper Northeast) and why and right now supposedly the DOE is saying they knew nothing of it. Believe what you want but I think this issue is not over and the shame is that someone maliciously got this thing in there and obviously made whichever sponsoring Senator look like an idiot since it simply does not make sense. By the way, Guardian has a great breakdown of what this thing is on their website and you can find it HERE.

Elsewhere…

-- I love the DOE… well not really…. And aside from the above (which I have a hard time believing that a Senator would just willy-nilly put this provision in WITHOUT discussing with the “so called” experts- then again we don’t have a lot of great Senators these days so this could’ve happened) the other issue was something I ran into this week. I met a person who went to the DOE for a grant… they asked for $130,000…. And the DOE gave them….. $170,000! Yep gotta love that department folks… they blindly support one of the most unbalanced and unfair groups ever created (NFRC) and they give out money like drunken sailors. I swear I was born with the wrong genes.

-- I loved the USGNN story on the slowing of the communist Chinese imports… and not because I was in it. The story itself is great and its proof that people are catching on… hey buy at your own risk… now the focus needs to be on the material coming into this country from Colombia. A lot of the same rules and hazards apply so beware…

-- Do you sometimes get depressed when reading or watching the news anymore? Man I know we have lived through a few of these times, but doesn’t this one seem more severe? Or is it just me… and the media that makes it seem worse? Then again I was not driving in the 1970’s when gas lines stretched around the block…

-- Don’t forget about GANA’s education and technical conference coming up in April. For your tech guys and project managers it really is a strong event. Check out the details on glasswebsite.com.

-- I feel bad for the good people that live in California… not only do you get the honor of having two NFRC Board members from the CEC (ooooooh sorry – just one and one … ahem… ‘consultant’) but your also stuck with the “Octomom”…. That whole story makes me ill and now that she has now moved into a 500K house thanks to “contributors” and will have nanny’s at the willing, I am furious… So she went from food stamps to a ½ mil house? Yep the taxpayers of California you get the honor of paying for that nightmare for a long time. Who’s gonna pay that hospital bill? Somehow I think its gonna be you… but that makes sense in a way… as a state you wanted the NFRC CMA and that makes no sense so why not pay off the Octomom….

-- Yes even I can somehow connect two things as far apart as the Octomom and the NFRC… crazy eh?

To the LINKS we go…

The awesome as always “Link Chick” is back this week… evidently instead of being the diplomat to Cuba she’s now going to work the Global Warming angle after having 8 inches of snow one day and 81 degrees the next…

-- Tempered Glass strikes back! Well not exactly… a backboard explodes after a pregame dunk and there’s long lasting consequences…

-- Like noting of bad news above… how’s this.. Sesame Street now laying off… yeesh.

-- A cool building with glass like a crossword puzzle… neat stuff….

Video of the week:

I got this from a few people… THANK YOU… for the 50th birthday of the Barbie doll… it’s been updated for today’s times… classic stuff!

That was a fun week...

Recapping and catching up... Saturday style...

NFRC ended its meetings and the "Awning" controversy swirled... best part is that they made the comment that the Awning folks will get what they want but they (the awning guys) will pay for it... which brings up...

1. Why sponsor an NFRC meeting- let alone two? What benefit is there? Are they hoping that when Jeff Baker needs a new Awning he'll use a member? I have never seen a more worthless call.
2. Obviously the rest of us are in the wrong business if the Awning guys can sponsor a meeting and foot the bill for the research needed... obviously that is a group flush with disposable income.

Anyway the whole thing still smells and will continue to do so...

Also the DOE twins of Karney and LaFrance had their moments in the sun...

I am sure LaFrance once again sounded like the teacher from "Peanuts" as he talked and everyone summarily ignored. "wonka wonk wonk wonka"

Meanwhile Karney played to the crowd with a wild comment that was listed on the NFRC blog saying along the lines of make sure if you are fighting, discussing, dealing with the shameful 30/30 issue to make sure that NFRC numbers are used.... OH THANK YOU.. What a freakin shill. (Now note I was not there and so I am using the NFRC Blog as the source- you don't think that they would put words in Karney's mouth would you????)

It's really pathetic that these two guys from DOE have done nothing for the taxpayers that pay their salaries. They pander to the NFRC and in some cases repeat the NFRC lines verbatim. I really hope that eventually that the new regime at DOE moves these two somewhere else (since being bureaucrats they can't get fired) and bring in some fresh and unbiased blood. It really would make a difference.

And it's guys like LaFrance and Karney who play the wrongful perception that manufacturers and fabricators hate running low e... yep could not be further from the truth guys... we hate organizations who make money off our hard work because people like you take a blind approach to it.

Then again as someone said previous- "what happens if the new guys are worse" and my answer has always been... "its impossible to be worse..."

I mean could a new guy have a meeting under the heading of "Building Envelope" and not invite GANA, IGMA, Viracon, Oldcastle, Kawneer, Arch and so on like the teacher from Peanuts Marc LaFrance did? "wonka wonk wonk wonka" Yes a meeting like that happened but don't worry TRACO was there so we're all safe!! I can only imagine what was discussed and how clueless everyone was.

Anyway the 30/30 is something we'll cover more later this week when readership is its highest and not just the NFRC junkies.

Wow the therapy of writing this is just so good...

And commercial is still better than residential...

A quiet week on the commercial front… while the residential guys deal with the illogical (and quite frankly shameful) 30/30 provision that was sneakily slipped into the stimulus, the commercial side just continues to truck along working against the waves of an economy that gets tougher every day. A lot of people have the money that was in stimulus for construction spent, but I think anyone who has worked in this industry knows that there is no such thing as “shovel ready”… so even with some green lights and with projects moving forward it is still going to be a rocky road. Amazing even more if you consider we went from a glass shortage last summer and fall to a slower go now.

Elsewhere….

-- The NFRC meetings are still going on and that whole sponsorship thing won’t die. I heard from so many people who saw it to be so wrong for the NFRC to accept sponsorship from a group in the position to gain from an NFRC board decision. Just shows that no matter how much people like Joe Hayden try to play off how much integrity they have, this shows they have none. And quite frankly I say that about every board member now- just another filthy move but expected really because this is classic NFRC.

-- Yes I am mad because the awning people outsmarted me. If only we offered to sponsor meetings in the past the CMA would look so different!! Heck it may have even had a chance to work! Bottom line isn’t this payola?

-- And please check the comment on the post below this… looks like the LABS strike again beating now on the residential guys. Out of control. And believe me the residential guys not only have a miserable economy to deal with but they also have to deal with the BS like 30/30.

-- Last note on this, according the NFRC blog, Rich Karney of DOE talked about how the bogus (my term, not his) 30/30 provision will “influence” Energy Star… hmm so that means all the work, all the resources that went into Energy Star will be wasted because of this illogical rule? You know how we have the same climate in Maine that we have in Miami…. (sarcasm alert!) Well if the 30/30 stands that statement will somehow be true… only at the DOE and NFRC… amazing.

-- Technoform and Raj Goyal. Wow tremendous pairing. Good company and a great guy.

-- Still feel awful for the folks at former Echo Window. While the Republic Window folks have “cult figure” status thanks to their sit in, the poor folks in Red Oak, Iowa have really gotten the ziggy. Sold by TRACO to “Echo” and then bam plant closed and jobs lost. It really sucks and I hope all of those folks can bounce back, they were truly pawns in a bigger game.

-- Did anyone watch 24 this week? Gosh I hope the real FBI and the real White House are not as pathetic as they are shown on TV. Up and down episode that is for sure, but Jack Bauer rules no matter what happens.

-- Is Winter over yet? Tuesday morning, 7 degrees outside my house and hearing about snow in the Carolinas and frost in Georgia… not to mention the massive snow in the Northeast. This has simply been a BRUTAL winter.

BOOK OF THE WEEK!
The GANA Sealant Manual…. And no I am not on the GANA Board anymore, but I am still a huge fan and this is an incredible publication. In this day and age you want to have as much knowledge as you can, and this manual brings it. Many people volunteered and worked their tails off to produce a top notch manual, so go to the GANA website- click here – and order up. You won’t be sorry.

Off to the LINK… yes LINK
Only one link this week because quite frankly there is nothing to top this…. A lady called 911… three times… because…. Her local McDonald’s was out of Chicken McNuggets. You can’t make this stuff up. Now I love food… love it a lot… but this is epic.

VIDEO of the WEEK!

Another favorite of mine is Family Guy and they just announced they’ll be doing a sequel to the Star Wars Blue Harvest piece… Return of the Jedi is coming and will be awesome I am sure. To get you fired up for it- a clip from Stewie in Blue Harvest…

Yep that makes sense!

In the comments from yesterday's post when I asked why in the world the awning people would sponsor an NFRC event.... the answer was posted and here it is:

Awnings are up for a very large request for funds in the research and technology committee.

Wow... and even though the NFRC made sure to note that they were not a guarantee for approval, methinks that the sponsorship locked it in. Damn if only I knew that a sponsorship was my way to get the board to think my way, I woulda done it years ago!!!

See we all blew it and the Awnings guys figured out! All of those 42-9 votes overturned by the board would now be accepted because we were putting cash in...

Am I crazy or is this not a GIGANTIC conflict of interest? Then again when your former President and long time board member makes 72% of her income from NFRC related activities, the term "conflict of interest" simply does not exist in the NFRC world. (along with terms like "logic", "transparency" etc...)

Best part of the NFRC blog today was the quick blurb on the CMA lesson that was given to the guys at New World West... something tells me everyone who knows those guys got a HUGE chuckle/anger pain out of that...

Better than Tylenol PM

My gosh judging from the NFRC blog site, the start of the meetings got off to a booooooring start. I mean if the quick synopsis of the meetings are boring can you imagine how bad it has to be there in person?

Ahhhh but then again not many people ARE THERE in person... yes 100 people attended but then you take away the 11 NFRC staff members, the lawyer, the 6 figure PR guy, the board members and BAM you probably have like 10 attendees... CONGRATS!

Among those NOT listed on the pre registration was Nelson Pena... he of the California Energy Commission (CEC). Maybe he'll show up later or maybe the state finally is realizing that its wasted way too much money over the years...

And speaking of California... you have to love the pathetic shenanigans of the NFRC when it comes to the Admiral Tony Rygg. He is listed as an "Independent Consultant" on the letterhead but everywhere else he is CEC. They do that because any normal logical person would be outraged that a board like this would have 2 people from the same group on it... then again did at matter, at one time Cardinal had 3 people- but at least they used different names.

I wonder if everyone there still has to run their ideas by Jeff Baker? Comical that guy has so much power and sway...

AH and they found a SUCKER... yes some group called the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association is now a sponsor! Well I have a word for that groups 326 members... TIME TO AUDIT! Obviously this group has way too much money. And really what will they get out of this? Somethings just baffle the mind. But here's me betting that someone at this Awning group is related to someone connected at NFRC... and they owe a favor... because there is no way this makes sense otherwise.

Last Joe Hayden did his annual "Tell me what we can do for you but we'll only listen and promote the stuff that makes sense for us" plea. Remember the meeting last November where Hayden asked the same (wow way to be creative! that must an idea from the 6 figure PR firm!) and the first thing written on the board was:

BOARD ACTION OVERRIDING MEMBER CONSENSUS

Oh I am sure they took that one serious... yeah sure.

Well we will see if anything else comes out of it. I do enjoy following the meeting via their blog since it saves money and valuable time (for which they could care less about) However the best part is after I watch a spine tingling episode of 24 tonight, I saved the review of the keynote speech to read before bed... that baby will knock me out cold!

Thank you!

Well folks time to say THANKS! As the February totals are in and it was the 2nd biggest month of visits and hits in the history of the site!! Obviously the coverage of Glassweek and BEC drove it and I am glad so many people followed along on here.
Now sadly we have the NFRC meetings which usually drives my viewers away in droves!

Anyway thank you to everyone who stops by and moreso everyone who has this site bookmarked or hooked into things like Google reader. I appreciate you taking the few minutes out of your week to check out what's happening here!

Thanks again!!

Could this be an Oscar worthy film?

The on-going saga of the Republic/Echo Windows adventure continued this week when it was announced that Echo was closing down. The news came as a major shock since it’s pretty rare for a business to be bought and closed so quickly. Echo came about just a few months ago and supposedly had some work in house. So who knows what went down… The bottom line is that this story… from the plant takeover and all of the other fixings was pretty interesting and probably not even close to being told in its entirety. I guess we’ll have to wait for the movie of the week for that one…

Elsewhere…

-- Next week the NFRC meetings… yee ha. I guess we’ll see if any company is "special" enough to sponsor that event. And speaking of NFRC they sent out the propaganda newsletter recently and it had once again classic unintentional comedy throughout. But the unfunny and galling item was the fact that NFRC is looking for a firm to “promote participation in the CMA program”…. Unreal. So let’s see… let’s bring upon the public a wasteful and unasked for (and un-needed) program and then let’s then hire someone to promote it because quite frankly no one wants it in the first place. BRILLIANT! So yes more money will be spent to promote the Titanic and that means more costs to the people who will be forced to use this program. I still think the Titanic will sink, if only because bad logic and planning just can’t survive no matter how many clueless people from DOE support it.

-- Saw the blurb on Sage getting a 20 million dollar investment via USGNN. Congrats to them… a great company with a great product- those investors made the right call that is for sure.

-- After my Glassweek columns I was sent an e mail asking why I did not mention Arch or any Arch people. (and no it was not sent by an Arch person!). Well as I replied to the person I write this piece as a independent guy- not an Arch guy. The reply back was telling “then that’s all the more reason you SHOULD mention Arch people etc…” And with that I was speechless. I guess it’s because the people I work with know how much I respect them and appreciate them- because I tell that to their face. They get to suffer with me daily while the rest of you just suffer once a week! Anyway I am proud and honored to work along side some of the best people in our industry and my not mentioning of them should not be taken as lack of appreciation.

-- If you are not watching the videos and newscasts from USGNN you really are missing out. Megan Headley and Drew Vass are doing some real tremendous work. As a former producer, I am jealous of all of the bells and whistles Drew has at his fingertips. Good stuff and worth your time.

-- Now that Glassweek is over the next big events are the Glass Fab and Educational conference in Cincy in April, then AIA in San Fran. Along the way there’s also a BIPV conference in San Diego too. Outside of that though it looks to be pretty quiet nationally… and this is fine by me. I think time being spent focusing on our cores is the only play right now.

-- Guilty Pleasure alert- If you have Sirius XM radio… on Sunday’s on channel 8.. they play old America’s Top 40’s with Casey Kasem… and it’s the exact show from some random weekend in the 80’s. This past Sunday I heard a show from 1980 and it was awesome.. the long distance dedication and the wild mix of music… (#18 was Pink Floyd… #17 was the Spinners….) Driving around and running errands made so much more enjoyable. Dang just writing that paragraph made me feel old.

Off the the LINKS!

-- The Link Chick had the week off last week thanks to BEC but now she is back to normal. Plus amazingly I even found a few links too… so here is a great potpourri of links sponsored by …… whomever sponsors the NFRC meeting because they have money to burn…

-- A blog post on the world’s “dumbest” LEED buildings. Some of these are legit- others not so much.

-- Speaking of Green… the Wall Street Journal had a great piece on the fact that Green jobs may not be the be-all, end-all that so many people think they will be. Great read here.

-- I don’t know if this is true or not but “Solar Powered” batteries? Like the ones you put in your remote? If this is true…. Wow…

-- Awesome story on sportsmanship…. Especially in light of the 100-0 diasater- this was cool

Was the coverage of the stimulus done correctly? Interesting piece breaking down the TV coverage!

Funny Joke/Story of the week:
From Stu (Thanks!!)

Having already downed a few power drinks, she turned around, faced him, looked him straight in the eye and said, 'Listen here good looking, I screw anybody, any time, anywhere, your place, my place, in the car, front door, back door, on the ground, standing up, sitting down, naked or with clothes on, dirty, clean . . . it doesn't matter to me. I've been doing it ever since I got out of college and I just love it.' Eyes now wide with interest, he responded,'No kidding. I'm a lawyer too. What firm are you with?

And most of you know my feelings on lawyers… I love this story!

Video of the week:

Thanks to Zone for this one… those Baby E Trade commercials have been popular- now check out the outtakes. Great stuff especially on the economy.

BEC Wrap

BEC 2009 is in the books and I really believe the show was everything that it was promoted to be. The networking was top notch. Just look around the room and you saw business in motion. The education and information delivered as well. All in all it was a tremendous experience and if you chose not to come you really missed out. As I told the attendees at the start of the show- I really believe that the smartest companies in the industry were in the audience because they were the ones to recognize the value. And in a tough economy people that take the time to work the angles, network and educate will be the ones that win in the end.

More BEC recap..

-- Good parts were: The hotel from the point of ease of getting to your room without having to take a cab… the scenery.. . Especially if you were a guy… the speakers… Dick Vermeil delivered an excellent keynote speech. He also was also classy enough to hang around and take pictures and give autographs. Russ Huffer of Apogee gave a presentation that everyone raved about afterwards… Henry Taylor continued to be the “King of LEED” with his timely update, while Julie Schimmelpennigh educated the crowd on some very cool new window technology and also got people clapping in some sort of rhythm. Also the presentation by Culp and Carney gave people more insight to what could be nightmarish times ahead. Last, as USGNN covered Russ Ebeid’s speech was deep and insightful and created a buzz that will be felt for quite a while.

Other BEC/GANA thoughts…

-- Brad Austin of Viracon deserves props for his leadership at the head of GANA in 2008. He did a tremendous job positioning the group and keeping good things on track. I fully expect his successor, Mike Ondrus of Glasstech to carry it on and forward.

-- Megan and Drew from USGNN were everywhere. I do think it is just a matter of time before Drew gets his satellite uplink and we’re doing live shots from these events….

-- Next GANA Event is April with the Glass Fabrication and Educational conference. Again a good one if you want to learn and network.

-- A huge thanks to GANA staff… Brian Pittman- the AV Mastermind, was in his glory at 5AM on Monday morning as 8 worker bees took direction from him as he set up the video and audio. Ashley Charest who somehow keeps everything organized and flowing despite attempts from certain people (ummm wonder who that is) to throw her off. Sara Neiswanger was hustling all over directing people to the right places…. Urmilla and Greg were those calm beacons that always greeted me with a smile, and Bill Yanek now through 2 BEC’s, he’s old hat- plus he delivered an eye opening piece on GANA and energy. In fact any presentation that shows a picture of Jack Lambert is awesome in my book. Last Thanks goes to Carol Land. She always takes care of me and does all she can for the other 500+ people. I just love having her on my side!

Now to the “Page 6” portion…

-- Man it was great to see the folks I saw…. Got to talk briefly with Ron McCann of Viracon and told him all I have to do is mention is name and BAM I get like 1000 extra hits. Also Alice Dickerson of Vitro America introduced herself to me, she mentioned she reads some of these blogs and considering my past I can understand why its only “some”…. The crew from Technoform were there en masse but I had a moment of missing my main man Milind! Speaking of missing, Jim Stathopoulos from Ajay was supposed to be in but had something come up… your presence was missed no doubt! And Bruce Mikels of BDM also missed because he would rather go to the Glass show in Atlanta (commence abuse) Caught up with John Dwyer of Syracuse Glass, John was one of those guys who led GANA to this spot with his past involvements….without his efforts we don't have what we have.... Always nice to see Mike Rupert of PPG, now the crew there can flip from abusing Kevin Brooks about his appearance on this blog to Mike. Seeing Chris Knitter of Central Pacific Glass is awesome… I appreciate so much that Chris and his company support BEC every year like they do. .. Brian Craft of Guardian has always been one of my guys and now he added a pretty cool goatee to his look… I think he could double as a spy in Bond flick…. At the airport it was like a BEC after party… amazing to see all of the players still milling about. I ended up on a plane with Joe Staffileno of Zeledyne (AKA the King of West Virginia) along with Mike Krasula and Rachel Hepner of Pilkington NA. Actually had the supreme honor of sitting next to Rachel and watched in utter amazement as she figured out some complex puzzle in like 30 seconds… look for her on the game show circuit- girl has skillz.

-- I will probably do a “normal” blog post later in the week depending on how the digging out of my life goes after 6 days in Vegas.

-- Anyway I would like to thank everyone who attended and everyone who took the time to visit with me and catch up. It truly was enjoyable. And a special thanks to everyone who’s following along on the blog and end up taking heat from their co-workers because of my mentions. (I think Jay Phillips was hid from me on purpose for that reason… I mean I saw him for a split second and then BAM he was gone.) I really appreciate it.

-- Last the BEC is a fantastic event and GANA a great group and only good things are coming. Henry Taylor of Kawneer takes over and will do a fantastic job and I look forward to sitting in the crowd and rooting him on!

VIDEO:

At the start of Russ Ebeid's presentation he showed an awesome video and many people wanted it for themselves... well here you go... very cool video!!

Glassweek Update

Well we are halfway through Glassweek and speeding towards BEC… some quick thoughts…

-- The first ever Energy Committee meeting, highlighted by a talk from Cheryl Kennedy of NREL and Tex Wilkins from DOE was fantastic. A packed room held on to every word those two said. Possibly the only scary thing was I think both made Solar sound very “easy” to get into- which quite frankly it is not. It may seem so, but I think people will find the barriers are not as achievable as it looks. Still a super turnout.

-- The attitude here overall has been solid- very little doomsday and mostly people trying to ride this storm out. That is a good sign since panic is obviously not the best approach for anyone.

-- By the way GANA has a very cool website for Energy news… you can access it HERE.

-- And speaking of GANA, once again the work by folks like Brian Pittman, Ashley Charest and Carol Land has been tremendous. Good people who deserve props.

-- In case you were wondering… the Walker Glass fashion plates did not disappoint. I came here for 6 days all packed in a carry on. They came for 2 nights and packed a suitcase each that could house a small family. I guess style has its pains eh?

Now time for who I saw…. Like Page 6 for the glass industry….

-- I got to see Ren Bartoe dressed to the nines for the formal dinner… but even with that he sported a gold tie in honor of the Super Bowl champs… saw Mike Nicklas and some other guy from Berkowitz. It’s tough on poor Mike that he has to do all the talking for that group. He needs to have that other fellow come out of his shell…. Got to hang out with Joe Erb from Edgetech during the Energy meetings… he suffered through all of my whines and moans as the Solar Panel made getting into solar sound as easy as buying a cup of coffee…. Speaking of solar I got to talk to Kevin Brooks of PPG… he is their market development person for that stuff and they really have the right guy there… good man and he’ll have some serious success at getting PPG deep into that market… had the pleasure of talking to one of my favorite people. Dr. Helen Sanders of Sage. As everyone knows Sage is a big time favorite product of mine (I really believe it will be a dominant force out there) and so it’s always great to chat with Helen. Though I was bummed that her compatriot Maure Creager did not make the trip… Always great to see Henry Gorry from Guardian.. he is truly a CLASS guy.... Margaret Webb of IGMA was here and it’s amazing how many meetings that she has to attend- especially recently… I have to wonder if she can remember what city she is in sometimes with all the travel… Nils Petermann of the Alliance to Save Energy(and NFRC Board member) was in attendance… I have always found Nils to be friendly, thoughtful and intelligent and this time was no different… which makes me wonder- he along with a couple of other NFRC board members are like that (Kerry Haglund comes to mind in the same vein) yet somehow that Board makes the most illogical calls… I guess somehow they all follow people like Jeff Baker… shame.

-- Last a major thanks to the Vockler family and ICD (and for those of you who somehow don’t know ICD IS OPACI-COAT Spandrel among other great products. They took me (probably as a charitable donation thing- they get a tax break for it under the new stimulus plan) to the Elton John show at Caesars Palace. Simply incredible… Elton still has it… but the videos he plays while he sings are so bizarre that the word “bizarre” is just not strong enough. Still a great show- despite the stunning omission of “Crocodile Rock” from the playlist. Thank you Larry, Trish and Kris- I am grateful.

-- BEC gets going with an 8AM Sunday Technical meeting- then the cocktail party later that night, then the fun goes all day Monday and Tuesday… should be an interesting time.

All Stars and More

As I sit on the plane headed to Vegas for Glassweek and BEC it dawns on me that this event is more like an All Star game then an industry gathering. When I review the attendance list and I see some of the names I am simply blown away that the talent in the room is the best there is. Looking at the names you have your industry “Superstars” (as I called them back a few years back) like Julie Schimmelpenningh, Greg Carney, Mike Gainey, Christine Shaffer and Scott Surma. Then you have the folks that kick butt day in and day out like Jay Phillips, Garret Henson, Tom Culp, Kris Vockler, Matt Sampsel, Chris McMahon and so on. Plus you have the best glazing contractors in the country represented. People like Walters & Wolf, Trainor. Harmon, Ajay, Chicago Heights, United Glass and Panel, DM Products, Admiral, CGI and the list goes on and on and on. And while we’re at it, no meeting would be complete without the Haber’s and W&W. In addition there’s the people and companies I’ve never met that I am hoping to say hi to like the folks from APG, Glass Systems, and Cheviot. And finally to top it off you get the rock star quotient covered too with the appearance and speech by Guardian’s Russ Ebeid. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on. Heck I may even ask for autographs this year! (That is of course from the people who DON’T have restraining orders against me….which at this point are most of the people listed above.)

Elsewhere…

-- Obviously the tone at Glassweek and BEC should be pretty interesting. Is it as bad in our industry as it seems it is in the “real world”? Should make for some fun discussions between customers and suppliers.

-- The technical schedules of course are full and that’s where the serious work gets done. This is what makes Glassweek great and GANA unique.

-- Oh and the Walker Glass guys will be here and the joy in that is seeing their outfits. No one, and I mean no one can do fashion like Danik, Marc and Rocco. Aside from making some awesome glass, these guys can really dress. Someday I need to go to Montreal and go shopping with them- it would be like “Extreme Makeover” glass edition.

-- The latest issue of USGlass has another tremendous Deb Levy interview this time with Leon Silverstein. Deb has really taken these interviews to a tremendous level and each one is better than the last. I can’t wait to see who she has lined up next.

-- And in that interview, Leon made a comment on the NFRC and I believe that many people will get a huge kick out of it. Basically the comment was that Arch as a company would have no issues with the NFRC or their plans but we know it’s bad for our customers and the industry. That’s been the fight all along. I have always said that I welcome a full system calculation plan but the NFRC attempt lacks so much logic it’s painful and really that’s why I believe it will be DOA. The current economic crisis will only accelerate the sinking of this ship and I believe in the end all of us who fought will be proven correct.

-- USGNN had an update on the awful and bogus lawsuits that are happening right now with the float guys. And once again I have to clarify that the Perilstein Glass that is listed has nothing to do with me, my brother, sister or family. It sucks that we have the same last name because this whole shenanigan makes me ill actually.

-- Last I’ll try and post more while I am out here to get a flavor for what is happening. Friday is the first ever GANA Energy committee meeting and there’s also a pretty solid panel involved in that too. It should be very interesting. Stanley Yee, (another one of those industry stars) is heading up this committee so I can pretty much guarantee some very good insight to be forthcoming.

Off to the Links!

So I know many of you are breathlessly following the adventures of the “Link Chick”- she is still weighing the offer to do the Cuba thing but she has still found time to send in some of the coolest and interesting links out on the web today. I think the “Link Chick” should take the Cuba gig as this blog gets hits every week from Finland, Germany, Israel, China (yikes), Japan, UAE, and England so I would love to add Cuba to that list!

-- Could your marriage survive a year of total, brutal honesty? Hmmmm.

-- A forgotten subway from 1844 under Brooklyn. Interesting story and somehow I bet Jim Fairley has been in this or around it.

-- Heads up, your Girl Scout cookies contain less cookies then in the past… oh man that’s actually good news, won’t feel as bad when you finish off a box real quick!

Quick Saturday Post

2 quick items...

1. The Stimulus plan... evidently, according to Bloomberg, one of the items taken out of the stimulus plan was the following:

The Senate agreement pared from the bill $20 billion for school construction, $2 billion to expand broadband access in rural areas, $3.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient and $200 million for NASA.

Yes you have to love it... so while there can be TONS of things removed porkwise from this bill, one of the things is energy efficiency? Wow... they must've asked Marc LaFrance for his opinion and he probably is still waiting for a call back from Garrett Stone to give it. (Sorry- insider reference).
Seriously this one is comical... personally I think they should make sure if they are giving any money or support to the NFRC that needs to go bye bye.

But on the flip side- I would've loved to have see how the energy efficiencies were going to take place. Were they going to add Solar Panels, Electrochomic Glazing and high performance Low E? If thats the case then it really is a huge loss. But the comedy of it is the total lack of care for energy efficiency- all the way at the top.

2. California is now so broke that state agencies are cutting work hours. Add this to the delay in refunds and the state is hurting for cash flow bad. So hopefully the Gov will start slashing at the CEC- especially when he see's how much of California's resources have been squandered by chasing illogical NFRC style programs.

Being stimulated to buy American

Obviously the top story this week should be that great Steeler win in the Super Bowl, but I’ll cover that below. For all of us the big story is the on-going debate on the “Stimulus” and the parts and pieces that make it up. One part that is starting get some play was a “Buy American” provision that pretty much sounds exactly like the Buy American act that is currently on the books. Except this one brings a little more teeth to the proceedings. Unfortunately the EU did not like it very much and as of early Wednesday, President Obama was backtracking some. But the bottom line is some sort of protection needs to be built in, promoted and ENFORCED. The communist Chinese and now more intensely the Colombians are dumping material in this country when quite frankly many people need all of the business they can get. And yes I know I am being ultra protectionist here, but when it comes to glass and glazing there is nothing more galling than seeing a public building (like an airport) that features material that could’ve been manufactured and fabricated here in the US. Add to it that in 90% of the situations the traditional glazier gets cut out too and you have the recipe for disaster. So in between all of the fights on where this stimulus ends, here’s hoping that the Buy American angles are not just forgotten.

Elsewhere…

-- Speaking of the Stimulus- click here for a list of some of the “Wishes” that state and local folks want… some are verrrrrry ugly.

-- Super Bowl XLIII was fantastic and as a Steeler fan it was over the top. Somewhere my fellow Steeler fans like Ren Bartoe and Bob Lang must be in major celebratory mode. Now unlike the Seahawks from a few years ago who had fans (most notably Jerry Razwick) is anyone really a fan of the Cardinals? Anyone out there crushed by their loss? I have a feeling not.

-- The commercials by the way for the game were the worst I have ever seen. Between people trying to cut budgets and trying to be as “PC” as possible, the commercials are the biggest waste of time and money around. Aside from the Dorito’s pieces (which were written by non commercial writers by the way) the rest of the lot was terrible.

-- Did you catch the Atlantic Arena glass debacle story from USGNN earlier in the week? Evidently bullet resistant glass for a structure that large does not come cheap. It’s funny that they are more worried about the drive by’s than a possible bomb. Very rare trade off there that’s for sure.

-- I have written a few times on the following including a piece for USGlass on the scam of “magazines” calling and offering to write a “free” article about your company. The catch is that someone- either you or your customers or suppliers will have to “sponsor” it. So it’s not free. Plus these magazine do not appear anywhere- you won’t find them on a newsstand or on line- they are pretty much custom made for the suckers that fall for this scam. They have names like “Green Building News and Views” or “Executive Excellence” and it amazes me that literally everyday I get a call from either a customer of ours who got hooked on one of these or from the fake magazine themselves. Today’s call the gal told me that since 80% of companies have a rule against supplying their customers names or suppliers names (80% - boy the other 20% are dumber than sticks) that we could just “sponsor” the article ourselves! Wow isn’t that precious! Seriously folks this falls into the “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” category… and if you want pub… do it the right and old fashioned way- call up a legit magazine (like USGlass as an example) and work a deal with them.
Like the above story the scams come in all shapes and sizes- its just a shame that some people just want to steal- instead of earn.

Off to the LINKS!

The link chick has hammered me with some great ones again… I guess she has time before she starts her gig in Cuba. By the way, I heard the first thing she wants to bring to Cuba is some sort of game night dating plan… go Link Chick Go!

-- Another story on a plane that just sits on the frozen runway… how in the world have not figured this issue out yet? Every year it happens multiple times… why?

-- In China the financial crisis is driving some people to… jokes?

-- Long and odd piece on 2009 being the “Year of Panic” and just think if this guy had ever heard of the NFRC...

-- Best for last... a tremendous piece on an athlete who lost her memory during an accident but yet still soldiers on.

Video of the week:

Got to be the best commercial of the Super Bowl… shame that the competition was only between 2 spots… c’mon Hollywood let’s get creative eh! Regardless I got a kick out of this piece!

BEC- Will YOU be there?

The GANA BEC show is fast approaching and when I reviewed the list of attendees I was blown away at the level of quality that is attending. I know I say every year that it’s the best of the best in our industry, but this year it’s really true. Plus in a tough economy to get the turnout we are expecting is unreal, then again having an event like this attracts the shrewd and smart in our industry as no one with a good feel will want to miss it. It’s funny a glazier told me last week he was budgeting for the glass show in Atlanta and I told him that was fine, but in reality he’d be attending the wrong event (if he could only go to one). Obviously I am biased but no way will you ever get the caliber of people and mix of industry professions in one spot at a trade show. That’s what will always make this show the best.

Elsewhere…

-- Is it not the scariest thing seeing every day another company announcing massive layoffs?

-- As for our industry I think it’s still a battle. The rumor mongers are working overtime and if you try hard enough you can hear a rumor about every company that has ever touched a piece of glass or metal. Tougher times breed this mentality. However at the end of this day not everyone will be standing. The only redeeming factor to this is the fact we have way too many players and the field really does need thinning.

-- Color me confused on the moves by Serious Materials- especially the move to possibly buy the Republic Windows location. Maybe the city of Chicago is stepping up and helping to financially support the move, but I just don’t see it. Glad the folks there who lost their gigs because of the shenanigans of past management will get another chance though- so at least that was a good thing.

-- By the way NFRC put out a note about how great the marketing opportunity it is to sponsor their meetings. What’s next the local Dentist offering sponsorships for root canals? Both are about the same enjoyment levels. I cannot wait to see who jumps in and sponsors this because that means that company has money to burn which means they charge their customers too much if they can throw money at a bizarre gig like this.

-- I did hear from a few others that the IBS show was better than I thought. Still I can only go on what I saw and experienced. Plus they expected 90,000 people and they say only 60,000 attended. (which also seems high). End of the day that show was not a good one for anyone at this point.

-- Got some great e mails this week with links and pictures and jokes and such… here’s a few of the highlites… Thanks gang!

-- From Stu… a billboard that many people wish they could make happen and would gladly wield the apparatus to do the job!

From Tara, classically stupid headlines… some of these are just so amazing...

This is great since you know I pretty much despise all attorney's except a couple.... Guess he'll win somehow eh?

This is almost like the bad bailout stories you hear!

Yep... this would mean there is such thing as a 25-teen....

Now the regularly scheduled links!

The “Link Chick” is BACK! Fresh from the Obama inauguration and she was on fire this week- awesome stuff all around. Hopefully she can keep up as I hear rumors that she may become the new administration’s top diplomat to Cuba.

-- The game of “LIFE” with a new model that is more… shall we say “realistic”

-- Going green now hits the kid market with the Eco Friendly Dollhouse… oh its cute and I know my friend the Pundit will order one for her children (when that time comes)

-- An incredibly cool link on how much caffeine it would take to kill you…. For me it would take 416 Diet Dr Pepper’s…. which somedays I think I have come close to… try it out!

-- A goat was arrested for armed robbery. Seriously. And I think the same people who arrested the goat should sponsor the next NFRC meeting.

-- And a link from Josiah on the Chinese striking again this time with faulty drywall… CLICK HERE.

Video of the Week

Also from the “link chick” it’s a classic video of a husband using his wife to test out bullet proof glass. I believe this is chosen method of most bullet resistant folks…

Viva NOT Vegas

Do you want to be depressed? Then hop a flight to Las Vegas as quick as you can because I have never seen this place so down. I am in town for the International Builders Show and I think we all knew the show would be down, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be as awful as it turned out. Granted these are my impressions but I have been to this event many times and I have never seen it like this. Empty aisles, empty booths, and even exhibitors trying to pull you in… at this show stuff like that has never happened. Add on to it Vegas itself… the bubble has burst here.. in fact visitation here has dipped 10% and casino revenues are down 16%. Add in the stopping of major projects and plans to not open other projects on time and you have a serious and depressing mess. It used to be Vegas was your escape from reality… now it is way too real…

Elsewhere…

-- On the show just a few notes because I am actually writing my February column for USGlass on it. (Yes for those of you blog only folks, I write a column for the industries top magazine every other month. Not sure why they let me do that but they are charitable people).

-- The window booths were pretty empty- heck Osama Bin Laden could hide in a few of these and no one would find him since no one was going in some of these!

-- The oddest booth’s were the Marble lawn statue booth… offering 10% off on all statues! Along with the Wardrobe Automation booth. Man if the wife saw that, we’d have it I am sure, but not sure there’s a ton of call for it.

-- The Vinyl Institute was there also talking about how great of a product it is… I guess the fact it’s not really recyclable and it’s made from oil is still not a deal breaker eh?

-- Bank of America and Wells Fargo were there… your bailout money at work! BOA was doing computerized horse races for prizes while at Wells Fargo you could dress up like an old time cowboy and get your picture taken! I’d rather see these guys be more serious considering the mess they (and we) are in? Horse Races? Pictures?

-- Busiest booth… this is a stunner to me… the busiest booth in the entire show was none other than LOWE’S! Yes Lowe’s the chain big box hardware store. The booth was packed and crazy- and it was the only one that was… now help me here… do people really need to come to Vegas and come to this show to see what Lowe’s has? I mean isn’t there one on every corner? Baffling.

-- NFRC was back in the news this week… they are looking for sponsors for their meetings…. that’s as comical as it gets… next thing you know the IRS will ask for sponsors for audits.

-- Also NFRC had their little newsletter out where they talked about how many people approach them to rate products… so my question is… IF SO MANY PEOPLE WANT YOU… WHY DO YOU GO AFTER PEOPLE WHO DON’T? And the answer is these other industries don’t have the financial impact that the commercial industry could have… remember it’s all about the money.

-- But speaking of CMA… the newsletter spent a ton time propping it up because I think they know this thing is DOA. The economy is a mess and there is no way people are going to go for an un-needed rating system when it’s put together with no logic or even brain capacity. The average Joe will see it for what it is- a blatant cash grab… and the Titanic will sink….

-- I think TRACO and Arcadia should sponsor the NFRC meetings so everyone can know who helped push for this debacle if it indeed happens… and hopefully the public will “reward” them if you know what I mean.

-- By the way the state of California is out of money and cannot even give tax refunds. Hmmmm maybe they should start cutting at the California Energy Commission since a few of those folks have wasted serious money over the years….

-- OK enough NFRC… between that and depressed Vegas I may have to jump…

-- Here we go Steelers… Here we go…. Had to get that in there….

-- If you are a fan of Pro Wresting and you watch the Royal Rumble this weekend, I will be there with my son, aka Triple Z. Yes his first wrestling match and rumor has it one of the industries most influential will also be at this event… we’ll have to see if we can get photographic evidence!

To the LINKS!
Only one link this week… been off the internet and I think the “link chick” was working Obama’s inauguration (she I believe is a speechwriter for him) because I have not heard from her… so hopefully they’ll all be back next week…

-- A great idea from Detroit News columnist Nolan Finley on jump started the economy. I am no economist but it sure sounds good… I fully expect someone smart like Scott Surma to jump on this one...


Video of the WEEK

For all of my Steelers friends… the hit by Ryan Clark near the end of the AFC Championship… simply amazing and brutal too.

It's really.. really..COLD

Greetings from the frozen upper Midwest… not sure but I believe the Polar Ice Caps have reappeared but they are now located on a farm in suburban Minneapolis. Anyway as we freeze all is pretty quiet on the industry front. Next week is the International Builders Show and that should be an interesting gauge for what is going on and what people see happening next. The other item of interest came up this week for me while I was talking with the “Glass Pundit” Kris Vockler. She asked what I thought about the downturns effect on new technology. Sadly I think good products will be downgraded because of costs. We are already seeing projects that are continuing slashing their budgets and forcing the GC to use different materials in order to get costs down. Maneuvers like that are not healthy and hopefully will only be short term. It really does become the classic “cut your nose to spite your face” deal. The smart and savvy will know to not scrimp… let’s hope they win out.


Elsewhere…

-- Maybe it’s the weather but I was having severe writers block… and ever since I started this blog, I rarely ever had writers block. (The bi-monthly USGlass article is a different story) Anyway I mentioned this fact to my friend and blog reader W. Cash and he hopped on the soapbox and gave me a treasure trove of topics… and instead of me talking on it- this is what he wrote… tremendous, passionate stuff!


Let's talk about shows like 24 and others that scare the wits out of folks who can't tell fiction from reality. Let's talk about how the government could have given every tax payer in the United States $20,000 to put back into the economy instead they bail out businesses who steal the money and pay themselves and the government is clueless as to where the money went. Let's talk about how the U.S. was built on mom and pop type business to now to be run out of business because of big business. We can talk about how all across the country large corporations are laying off thousands while mom and pop business's are trying to show loyalty to there workers and finding ways to keep them employed. America needs to go back to their roots.
I think that article you had on your blog about the Russian Economist although a little far fetched actually has some extremely good points. The Myan Calender has our world ending on December 21, 2012 and nobody has taken that seriously. Now NASA is talking about a solar storm that could cause the world to lose power for up to 2 months but you here nothing about that. Why can't the news talk about something positive instead of negative. My opinion is the News Media has created more problems in this country. The 1st amendment right needs to be looked at seriously. Again we need to go back to our roots and foundation. That is a good topic for you.



-- WOW… here is the link on the NASA Solar Storm… they are calling it the “Space Katrina” Yikes.

-- No doubt where has it right is the greed from the corporations and the lenient attitude towards it. Why isn’t Bernie Madoff in jail? Why can Wall Street get the bail outs but have basically no restrictions on its use of cash? Check out this story on the bank that got money and won’t lend it!!


-- As for the media, I have always believed bad news sells papers and that’s why the focus. Anyway thank you my friend for taking a shot!


-- If you have watched the first 2 episodes of 24 then keep reading.. if not skip to the next paragraph. I love 24… it really is one of my faves… but this year I have one huge beef… the President’s conundrum is between saving millions of Americans and preserving our infrastructure or saving a small civil war torn foreign country. Umm maybe I am jaded but how in the world is this a decision? Cmon… seriously? Regardless I have a huge man crush on Jack Bauer.

-- Friendly reminder on BEC… one of the presentations will be given by Henry Taylor of Kawneer. It is about LEED and green and for my money, Henry is the best LEED person in the US (with Beth Hockett of Trainor following in 2nd). If you want insight on LEED, it’s worth the trip just for that. Sign up today, and they'll squeeze you in.. no problem!


-- And speaking of my friend Henry… the President’s husband on 24 this season is named “Henry Taylor” man the guy gets around eh?

From the LINKS!

Surely check the link above on the Solar Storm.


-- How is this for a Mom and Pop shop getting hammered by stupid big business. Yep a Café is told to stop playing their CD’s unless they pay up!
And what kills me on that one is that this owner would’ve kept buying CD’s but now has been run off.. affecting the economy in their own small way.

-- Great quick piece from TIME via the Link Chick on the fact that the “Green” car is actually dying… amazing huh!


-- A Florida girl sent 35,000 text messages… LAST MONTH! That’s like one a minute… wow..

Books of the Week



If you like overweight comics with horrible drug problems… check out “Too Fat to Fish” by Artie Lange (known now from being on the Howard Stern show) and The Farley Show which is about Chris Farley’s life. Both books are great reads… in fact I read the Lange book in no time at all.. just hard to put down. The Farley book really covered his life and how it all fell apart thanks to so many battles with drugs/alcohol etc. Anyway good reads!





Video of the week

My sister comes through again… a great video set to Billy Joel’s “We didn’t start the fire” that takes you through 50 years of events. Someone actually took the time match the song to actual pictures! Very cool. Love the song.. love the video…

It's HERE!

Well it’s finally here… 2009 is upon us and we’ll finally see exactly how good, bad or ugly the year will be. So far it seems like everyone is holding their own but the million dollar question is will it last? Most experts are predicting "no". Worse yet I’ve heard some predictions putting our industry off as much as 30% from last year. The first signs will be if and when people go out of business. So far only rumors of people’s demise are out there, no fact. When it starts, and I believe it will no later than mid year, will it just be a trickle or a full scale stream? As I have said before, strap in, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

Elsewhere…

-- The push for GlassWeek and BEC is on… and I have to say, if you are examining your budget and trying to decide if you’ll attend any events, then this one needs to be at the top of the list. No offense to any of the other shows or events, but quite simply no event has the drawing power, the education, and the networking opportunities that this one does. And in what could be a “down” market, a great source of help can come from your friends and network. BEC offers the best angle for that. If you need more info, CLICK HERE and I hope to see you there…

-- Plus a new Top 10 list by yours truly will debut at BEC… so how can you miss that! LOL

-- Congrats to Ajay Glass and the Stathopoulos family for the fantastic article on them in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. I have known these guys for a few years (and they also are loyal attendees of BEC by the way) and I am glad they are getting positive pub. Good people who deserve it. The article by the way is located here.

-- In a USGNN piece last week I was quoted about trying to stay positive and not letting the stuff that gets me down, affect me. Immediately I heard from several people that thought it meant I’d be softer on some of my favorite subjects like NFRC and communist China. I’m here to tell you, my edge will still be there, but my resolution is to try and not let it consume me. So no one is getting off the hook but hopefully I can keep my focus, stay positive and proceed. I mean who knows maybe the Titanic won’t sink…. Or maybe the stuff from communist China won’t be terrible… nah not working…

-- One thing I don’t get is the people who go to Times Square for New Years… I am not sure what the attraction is by being a sardine while you freeze your tail off… then bam its over… I guess I am no fun, but I just don’t see the payoff there… I get enough of being crammed on every flight I take and living in Michigan I think I am frozen 9 months out of the year…

Let’s go to the LINKS!

-- Great article on Solar vs. Polar… what happens with Solar panels in the winter…

-- This house could cause some debate.. its called a “Passive House” and it doesn’t need a furnace… even though it’s in Germany…. Everything is great about the concept until you see the max size of the house…

-- Great site given to me by the “Link Chick” and its name says it all… People Who Deserve It… (meaning a punch to the face!)

-- Time Magazine paints a very bleak picture of Las Vegas… economic disaster alert!

-- And why not… a Russian Professor predicts the end of the US in 2010… one of his theories is California will become its own little country… oooooooh can the NFRC move their permanently then?


VIDEO of the WEEK!

My friend Dan sent me an amazingly timely video… It talks about Energy and our need to work to find other sources.. Yep.. Timely.. from the awesome Schoolhouse Rock series… in the 1970’s!!! Go to the 2:20 mark on this one when they talk Solar… amazing… and like Dan noted to me.. it’s shows it was a cycle.. hopefully this time the cycle ends and we stay focused on the prize…

Look Back Look Ahead

Not the normal post with the holiday just ahead…

Hopefully 2009 will bring us better results than I think most are expecting. The reports are not favorable but you never know. 2009 will be a crucial year in the history of our industry as more consolidation will take place, new ownerships will step up and some will be leaving us all together. It really will be interesting to see whose models work the best and who is still battling one year from now. We’ll also get to see the beginnings of the end of the Titanic and maybe see some movement on the Buy American Act in hopes of keeping the communist Chinese at home. In the real world it will be interesting to see how many American car manufacturers are left and if they go what effect that will actually have. Not to mention having a new President as well! 2009 really will be a wild ride…

Elsewhere…

I want to be able to thank everyone who reads this blog and comments either in person, via e-mail, by phone or even on the message board. 2008 was an amazing year of growth and the format that we have here really works. I appreciate all the insight and discussion points that have come through and all of the support when I do things that can be detrimental to my health! Special thanks to the folks at USGlass who just link to this blog, but have no editorial push, but they do it because they feel its news and interesting to their readers. A weaker group would’ve cut me out a long long ago. Also thanks to everyone who sends in links- especially the now legendary “link chick” aka BGO- you are awesome. And top those people like Janet and Jennifer at Ryan Public Relations (the best PR firm around) for always mentioning that they’ve checked the latest post out- I really do appreciate and am honored that such high powered folks read this. Anyway to all of the above and to all of you out there.. here is to a happy holiday season and most importantly a HEALTHY and SUCCESSFUL 2009!

To the Links...

-- Only 1 link this week… as some of you know one of my all time favorite movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life”- See I loved.. I mean seriously loved Donna Reed in that movie. Simply the perfect babe in my opinion. Anyway the New York Times had a pretty interesting take on my favorite movie and it basically makes you REALLY think about it. So if you are a fan of the movie, you should check out this link.


Video of the week…

-- And speaking of favorites I am big fan of Family Guy and this Christmas video is a classic… So sit back and enjoy…

Will the new guy be better?

So we finally have a name for the new Secretary of Energy. President Elect Obama has nominated Steven Chu for the position. Now the next step will be if Mr. Chu chooses to make up his own mind and truly look at what is front of him or if he will take the word of the bureaucrats that are frozen in their tracks at DOE. If he decides to get some fresh and unbiased insight he will find some amazing products and developments. If he chooses to go down the path of previous then we’ll be all wasting our time since the current crop of DOE folks who deal with the commercial industry sadly have no clue on what is truly happening. So let’s hope that the whole “change” theme trickles down to the DOE too and the incoming Secretary can give a fresh perspective to an office and group that sorely needs it.

Elsewhere…

-- Last week’s post really brought out the people. One of the most popular posts I have ever had and easily the best commented on one. Man if all I had to do was prop Ron McCann I woulda done that 2 years ago! But seriously the post brought up several angles. Commercial vs Residential. Policing. Education. Who does what and where… I mean it opened up some serious angles and I would assume the fine folks at USGlass are probably already on it as the 15 comments alone probably would give them several very good and pertinent article ideas.
On education a late comment came in on Weds of this week saying we really don’t need it and gave some reasoning why. (and a rebuutal to that one late Weds night) The best point of the comment was that we are always trying to educate the architects but because of other factors messages just don’t get through. So that’s why in my opinion a strong and focused DOE could’ve been the difference. Instead of wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on a group like NFRC, the DOE could’ve been working to push the right products into place. As for a “policing” angle it would be better if not so many strings (read- extra dollars for interested parties) were attached. I look at it this way, if a cop had to go through the amount of hoops that a glazier would have to go through to use NFRC, no one would ever get arrested. Regardless great comments and they are always welcomed either there or on my e-mail.

-- The Republic saga continued with the filing of bankruptcy. At the same time it was reported that Echo Window started a 2nd shift. It’s amazing that Bank of America took a ton of heat here and more amazing that they did not fight back at all. Meanwhile the folks that used to work in Chicago are trying to organize where they can re-open the plant, and sadly there’s no way that will happen. Last on this I can’t wait to see the bankruptcy totals come out. Would love to see how much money they floated among certain people but most curious for me- the charge to the Bellagio.

-- Megan Headley had a great blog post previewing her Industry Forecast issue. One item she brought up was the cost of being “green” and if that could continue. It’s a great question and one that I think would be answered with a good solid “maybe”… Some areas of building will undoubtedly head that way- there’s too much push and focus to stop it. However I think the private commercial building that at one time wanted to “go all the way” will now ask its designers to hit more of the spirit of the rule instead of the whole magilah.

-- And your friendly reminder on Glassweek/BEC. It is the event of the year and I know budgets are tight but I believe this to be a "budget buster" as for the good of your business you will want to be there. Just way too much education, information and crucial networking to miss. Plus sign up now and I'll send you an 8 x 10 glossy of GANA Tech Legend Greg Carney... autographed. (Currently woth big $$ on EBay) Operators are standing by.


Off to the Links…

The Link Chick was on a roll this week.. as all of these are hers… thanks BGO!

-- China bans some food additives… you know like yummy stuff like Boric Acid.. yeesh.

-- And the China bashing continues (wow the Link Chick getting on the Anti China Train!) with this story on Chinese computers exploiting holes in Internet Explorer.

-- In case you heard the rumor… yes it is true, my brother Steve was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. After all he has the same experience as these two guys they just signed off of a reality show. Wow it’s tough being a fan of the Battlin Buccos.
By the way my bro has a nasty curve and can throw the knuckler.

Video of the Week

Keeping on the sports theme-thanks to Larry Carlson for this one… the Gatorade HS football player of the year Garrett Gilbert. He actually comes from Larry’s high school and where its neat is he is the first ever player from Texas to win this award. That amazes me since Texas (along with Florida & California) are the kings of great HS players. Anyway check him out… next year he’ll be wearing the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns.

Inc hits it on the head

Well a blogger (not me)from Inc. Magazine brought the heat to the real story on Republic. You can click HERE. The real heavy stuff is half way down after the banking babble.

And this amazing line from another news story:

During negotiations, Republic majority owner Richard Gillman initially demanded that he and other company executives receive money, participants said. Gillman wanted 8 weeks of his $225,000-per-year salary, plus additional money for payments on a Mercedes and Land Rover, Gutierrez said.

In-freaking-sane.

By the way the full weekly post is below with a ton of comments including an awesome one at the bottom. Great stuff all around.

The Incredible Story

No doubt the Republic Window “Sit in” after its closing has become the “Story of the year” in our industry. The coverage of this story has been amazing and as of this morning a quick Google search of the story brought up a staggering 3,380 stories.
But to me there’s one part of the story not getting the coverage it deserves and that is the whole Echo Window angle. Echo is the company that members of the family that own Republic have and they just bought TRACO’s plant in Iowa. USGNN broke the story and several news organizations have mentioned it but no one has dared to step into the deeper meaning. Workers have been quoted saying they would come in and equipment would be gone from the floor. Where did that equipment go? Workers have been quoted saying they heard that they would be “moving”- what does that mean? Hmmmm. So much attention is being paid to Bank of America and their possible responsibility on this issue that the underlying issue here- the possibility of the plant being closed and the work moved somewhere else (Echo) is not being raised or at least covered.. enough.

As for the Bank of America angle, I’d love to debate how this is their fault? Yes they got a bailout and many angles of said bail out infuriate me (more on that below). But there really seems to be a lot more to this story than what is being said. It’s a “Sexy” news story right now… an old fashioned “sit in” complete with politicians (including ones now in deep trouble like the Gov of Illinois) and the holiday angle with the mean old big bank as the bad guy. (Heck you expect Mr Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life to make an appearance) Eventually this will hash out and I believe more info will come out and that will be very interesting.

Elsewhere…

-- Speaking of the bailout… where I get mad… CitiBank gets a bailout and is in deep trouble yet somehow can still pay the New York Mets 20 million a year for the naming rights to their new stadium. To me that is freakin disgusting. Or how about our friends at AIG getting millions in bonus money? WHY? My gosh some things make no sense.

-- I got this from Jim K in Texas- a LINK to the actual bailout form. This is probably it given the looseness that this program is showing. Pretty comical.

-- Slow. That is the word I am hearing a ton right now. Whether it’s the folks in our industry or outside of it- so many people are slower than they’d like. But the real interesting comment was how it happened. I’ve heard many different versions but basically the comment has been:
“Everything was going fine and the BAM it just stopped. I have never gone from busy to slow so fast”
Just got to ride the storm out but as been noted here before the herd will be getting thinner for sure.

-- Saw a blurb from Ron McCann of Viracon online that was spot on. He basically said that he’d love to see the industry work on trying to cut out the supply of non coated glass and push people to the solar control stuff. AMEN! Ron is one of the more talented folks that work our industry and his comments hopefully will get people talking again. That issue has been one that several people including myself and Paul Bieber have been yapping about. See while the DOE and Marc LaFrance sleep soundly at the wheel, the push should’ve been on promoting solar control instead of trying to empower a money hungry group like the NFRC to create a “Titanic” of an un-needed police action. Maybe if the DOE would include people like Ron in discussions instead of listening to the know-nothings that they currently listen to we’d have a good start.

Off to the LINKS!

-- Yet another surcharge… this one is a classic and one that I would never, ever have to pay… it’s a charge for leftover food!

-- I have always wanted to put ads on the inside of IG units… but never thought there was an audience. Anyway the Link Chick found this one where a teacher is putting ads on his tests!

Yep the poor White House is really struggling- they just sent out Chanukah invitations with Christmas wreaths and pictures all over it. Yikes.

Video of the Week

I am not a big fan of CNN’s Campbell Brown… but this commentary is pretty awesome. She rips the CEO of Merrill Lynch for asking for a bonus! Maybe she should take on CitiBank next.

An idea to help California

Everyone needs a bailout these days and that seems to include the state of California. Basically according to published reports the state could be out of money by February. Well I have one area that Governor Schwarzenegger should look to cut to save money. How about the part of the California Energy Commission that does nothing except to try and promote unwieldy and costly programs that will drive business from the state? See the CEC has become a huge part of NFRC, but the question is why? Why does the State of California need to spend its now extremely valuable resources (cash) on a group that has to send a few members to 12 days of NFRC borefests per year- not including various board meetings and retreats. Shouldn’t this group be more interested in promoting alternative uses of building materials instead of trying to create ways to drown various industries with rules that make no sense? So when I look at California’s issues and then I see the amount of time and money that a group charged with “energy” spends on things like the “Titanic” I can only wonder how much more fat is looming in that budget. The good ole bailout- screw up, run wild, get fat and some one will save you.

Seriously if I was the Governor I would have my team look at every line item including this. What reason would the CEC have for being so involved in a “rating system” for fenestration? Shouldn’t they be more interested in creating systems that can help ease the energy load? Yes I am sure they have a code responsibility somewhere down the line- but I sincerely doubt the various code orgs need their help. Bottom line is this was a pet project for various members of the CEC- they got to travel the world and feel like big shots. They got to bail the NFRC out when they had run out of fake reasons on why they needed the CMA (remember the proven wrong excuse about the Congressional Mandate? That was a hoot! Or the classic- “its in the codes” Wrong again) The CEC by asking the NFRC to create this monstrosity gave a reason for this to continue and now looking back, you wonder how much money was probably frittered on an issue they had no right to involve themselves into.

Elsewhere…

-- And as always I must say I am not against full system calculations or a program that can develop them. I am against big money making efforts to cash in on such and also doing it as a monopoly like the NFRC is. Shameful.

-- From the good news side… the NGA and GANA came to an agreement to work together on the NGA’s MyGlassClass programs. This is groundbreaking as it brings together education and the critical mass of the industry. In a slowing economy one of the things that is important to remember is getting ahead via knowledge and now this angle will take that on. I am sure you will see and hear much more on this in the future, but for now I really believe it is a tremendous opportunity for NGA, GANA and the industry as a whole.

-- As some of you know, my 8 year old son is a huge professional wrestling fan. I think the dialogue though is going to his head as last night he tells me:
“Dad, you just talk business… I MEAN business!”
Yep look out 3rd graders here comes Triple Z. And wait til he grows up and takes on China and so on….

-- Speaking of China- how about this sign at a restaurant in Pittsburgh… very crude.. but people are passionate on this.. more than just me thats for sure... thanks to Scott for sending it!

-- I can not believe it’s December… simply insane how fast this year has gone. In fact I had to make my plans for the Builders Show in January- heck it will be here before you know it. This should be a VERY interesting one to experience.

-- Last week when I wrote about 3 more window companies shutting down, I got a bunch of e-mails asking me if it was this one or that one. I guess there’s a lot of people knocking on deaths door these days- which is depressing to a point. But I also believe the herd must be thinned. Then again let’s bail em out! Not.

-- And the problems with residential claimed another victim with PPG announcing they are closing up their PRC sealant division. It’s a tough one for me personally as the PRC sealants were all I have ever known and people like Chad Simkins (who is now at AGC I believe) were great people to work with.

On to the LINKS!

-- Can you believe that loopholes in New York are so big that the New York Daily News basically stole the Empire State Building? Yep they are… and they did it in 90 minutes!

-- From the link chick on how hard it is these days to buy 100% American. Folks I’ll be thrilled with 50% including all glazing…

-- Did you know there’s a genetic test to see if your kid is going to be a good athlete? The New York Times story here got a ton of play this week.

Video of the Week:

I was going to put up the Sean Avery video that got him suspended by the NHL but decided it would be too crude- even for me… (especially the sign above) if you want that, drop me a note or just go Google… anyway in its place, an amazing last minute College Basketball shot… I love these things!

Early Thanksgiving Post

Happy Thanksgiving! An early blog post in honor of the holiday. Thanksgiving really is the best holiday of the year. Seriously I know that most people would pick Christmas/Chanukah, but Turkey day is the call. The fact that you celebrate with family, food and football is almost impossible to top. All my life I have felt that way too. Man I was an odd kid. Then again everyone who reads this every week already knows that. Anyway, to all of you out there… even the communist Chinese, the ambulance chasing lawyers and of course my pals at the NFRC, may you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Elsewhere

-- Shorter than normal post this week, but tons of cool links for you to peruse when you have time… in the “links” section of course….

-- Mixed bag week economically. You had the GreenBuild show that everyone raved about and if the attendance figures were true, then the show was a blockbuster. Something tells me if the gang at Viracon was passing out beer, the probably needed it by the truckload. On the downside, 3 more window operations closed up. The residential world is a massive mess right now and it really does not look like it will get better quick.

-- Speaking of GreenBuild have I ever said how frustrating it is to have a program that pays so little attention to glazing? Oh yeah I have. Sorry. Just had to get that in there one more time. Comical that NFRC pays TOO much attention and these guys too little. Man a little in the middle would be great....

-- Have you made your Glassweek/BEC plans yet? If not, beat the rush and check out the website HERE and sign on up. This will be the event of the year and with the economy staggering, this is the one place that you NEED to be. So keep that in mind when doing the whole 09 budget adventure.

-- I bitched all summer long when gas was 4.15 per gallon and now I am just stunned to silence that its 1.68 at my nearest station. My gosh that is unreal. But does it really make any sense at all? This could be the only thing with less logic behind it than the NFRC CMA/Titanic.

Off the LINKS.. JUMBO edition

-- Well the “Link Chick” was en fuego this week on the link beat… but up first is one I found..
Did you know there was a “World Toilet Day” and it was at the World Toilet Summit where they talked about an end to “flushing toilets” Oh dear.

-- Huge controversy this week when a Super Model was shown and she had no belly button… no she’s not an alien, but it is a pretty wild thing… no innie or outie… I guess I’d trade my belly button to be a Super Model…

-- Interesting story- does a bad economy cause the crime rate to raise? I’d think so, but others disagree.

-- Who steals more info from US Governmental computers? Russia- Nope.. Iran… Nope.,.. our pals in communist China… yep keep buying their stuff folks.

-- Germany is running out of a crucial item this holiday season… Santa’s…

Saving best for last… you think we have economic issues here? Well in Russia they are struggling so bad that sales of Vodka are way off… seriously…


Video of the week

This one has swear words galore in it- so beware. It’s a classic of TV anchors and reporters messing up and just freaking… and as a guy who used to work in this world- I have been there!! Thanks to my sis for the link!