I see the future...

There are a lot of people out there who don’t see solar products as a great future entity- especially in our industry. However I think solar products will have a significant effect and today 18,000 people on the floor of the Solar Power International show agreed with me. This trade show was jam packed, making me remember the days of the old Builders Shows that cramped the aisles. There is no question that a thirst for knowledge on the solar products exists and also no doubt that we as an industry are still working out the answers. Smart companies like Weaver’s Glass of Harrisburg, PA were on the floor doing research. Those folks are getting ahead of the curve. Anyway at the end of the day I believe this material will be in our world in some make or fashion, so get prepared….

Also the show was a throwback to better days too. Booth’s had giveaways and get this- SPOKESMODELS! There were professional spokesmodels everywhere (all the ones I talked to asked me if my brother was at the show…) and if anything shows that people are spending money, it’s a tradeshow stocked with spokesmodels. Something tells me in 2 weeks at GreenBuild we won’t see many professional models dressed up as sexy Royal Canadian Mounties (yes, seriously) on the floor, or else the green architects will probably have massive heart attacks.

Elsewhere…

-- Also on the floor at SPI, our pals from Solutia. What a great company but really the reason they are as good as they are is they have easily some of the best people around. They are like an all-star team over there. Also I was going to stop in at Cardinal’s booth but was afraid there might be my picture on the wall saying “Do not talk to this blogger”

-- Oh and comically, the show being held AFTER this Solar show is the “Disaster Prevention” show. Man isn’t that what we all do daily anymore? Maybe I should stay for that and I can lead a seminar.

-- URGENT! GANA is doing a free webinar on November 4th to update you on the world of code changes within ASTM and ASHRAE and so on. It’s scheduled for an hour and quite frankly it’s a must. Get up to speed from the experts and sign up for the webinar now. You can reserve your seat at the meeting by clicking HERE. If you are in this business, then you NEED to know what’s going on with these codes because it WILL affect you.

-- By the way speaking of ASHRAE, I saw a poll on line about it- and the question was something along the lines of how do you think the ASHRAE moves will affect you. 51% said negatively, 2% said positively (they need their heads examined) and the rest basically did not know anything about it. So in simple terms it’s scary when ½ the industry doesn’t know what’s going on and the other half who goes is against it… yikes.

-- Speaking of scary, I really though Brett Favre was going to lead the Vikings to win vs. the Steelers late in the game Sunday…

-- By the way folks, if you are doing your budgets for next year, please budget to be at BEC. I may have moved on (which is probably a good thing) as host, but the show will still be awesome. In fact I have every confidence that my good friend Henry Taylor of Kawneer has an incredible conference lined up. Add in the networking- which is a must during tougher times- and you have an event not to be missed.

-- Cool thing to look at… check out this link.. it’s a glass spec from 1910! Somehow I think there are still a few architects that are using it… or only updated it to add Spectrum, Interpane and Polarpane as suppliers…

-- One final note on Solar… a great blog item HERE on the differences on doing solar business in California and Texas… Shockingly (sarcasm intended) Texas is better!!! Yep, a state that is not over regulated and over wrought is better for things… stunner… I hate to bag on California but my bitterness comes from the NFRC and California and the desire to bring California over-regulation to the rest of the world… and just curious what state is healthier now economy wise? Job wise? Hmmmmmmm (disclosure, I have always been partial to Texas anyway- big fan of many people there- but wow when you do the comparisons, Texas surely does rule)

Off to the links…

The hardest working chick in the business is back with more cool links…. “Link Chick” take it away..

-- Yep, the Chinese drywall issue took another turn… now insurance companies will cover…

-- Losing a big soccer game because of a beach ball on the field?

-- If being 5’10” and 120 pounds is overweight… my gosh I can’t even think of the term they’d use for me… anyway this model got fired for somehow being “overweight”…wrong…

Video of the Week:

Last week was the awesome hockey goal… this week it’s a very cool, and VERY long soccer goal… check it out…


SMU Freshman hits 95-yard Soccer Goal @ Yahoo! Video

30/30 was Dirty/Dirty!

Well the good ole 30/30 was back in the news this week. As you may remember when the 30/30 provision was snuck into the “Stimulus” earlier this year I railed pretty hard against it. (The 30/30 is the short name for a residential window program that can give up to $1500 in tax credits for windows that meet a .30 shading coefficient and .30 U value) Basically creating a one size fits all window program for a country that is FAR from being one size fits all lacked any and all logic. Amazingly it looks like more people agreed with me and now Washington is working on changing the program. All I can do now is laugh, as when it came out I was told how great the 30/30 was and how it was going to “save” the industry. Yep…it’s saving the industry just like the stimulus is saving jobs… ooops… but seriously no one with a clue could think that this was a good program right? It was snuck into the legislation at 3AM and no one with any insight or experience into the industry was consulted on it. My fellow blogger over at the awesome DWM (Door and Window Manufacturer Magazine) Jim Plavecsky had a tremendous take that I strongly recommend you check out HERE.

Elsewhere…

-- Yep sorry to go political but my gosh it sure gets frustrating…. And believe me I can go on and on and on… but we’ll save all of you from that wrath…

-- I saw the big coverage of McGraw Hill’s Outlook conference last week and the headlines all over was construction growth… (Most people trumpeted the 11% “growth”) but when I read inside the numbers it told me a different story… Commercial building is going down 4%, Institutional down another 2% and manufacturing buildings will go down 14%.... the “growth” comes from public works, utility construction, and residential. So while I am thrilled residential is slated to come back, the unfortunate part of the story is that the commercial industry could have another ugly year ahead.

-- Big game in the NFL this weekend… will the Vikings continue their amazing run? This week will be a tough test for Favre and the boys in Pittsburgh… and by the way I like Brett Favre for one reason… I am older than him, but he looks like 25 years older than me, so that makes me feel good. (He may be a great player, but I age better!!)

-- Congrats to Tom Huff and the gang from Mr. Go Glass as they were awarded the “Outstanding Outreach Award by the Delaware Department of Highway Safety” for promoting highway safety and awareness. They are a class company and I like to always prop folks that do things that put our industry in a positive light! Plus I have a soft spot for the family run business… good work folks!

-- I’m a big fan of Chris Mammen, owner of M3 Glass technologies… more so now when you read this blog post of his on the need for people to get involved in the on-going code battles in our industry. Good stuff… and good advice, if you don’t listen to a hack like me, listen to him…

-- I got this story from a bunch of people.. it’s the classic shower door glass “blowing” up that the local TV stations just love to cover. The reason most people sent it to me was they are convinced it has to be Chinese glass… but the funny thing I took from it was that the glass shop guy HAD to be misquoted when he said he didn’t think tempered glass could break…

-- Last, welcome to yet another new Blogger… Rick Kalson is now keeping a blog with a focus on the legal arena. Rick has spoken at a few BEC’s, is a member of GANA and a true blue supporter of our industry and a good guy. And full disclosure, I played youth basketball with Rick and was sure he’d be the next Kevin McHale… but I guess being a legal eagle is not bad either…

Off to the links:

The “Link Chick” was on FIRE this week… some really cool linkage for you to check out below…

-- Check out the medals for the 2010 Winter Olympics…. Ummm aren’t they supposed to be round?

-- You know how you keep hearing that the Mayan’s say the world will end in 2012? Well now they say that’s not the case… Funny piece here as they have much bigger priorities than the earth’s demise. Actually the world ends when I become an NFRC Board member.

-- Insurance companies dropping Chinese drywall policies… sad stuff for people who got stuck with houses with this toxic junk in it.

-- Patrick Patterson, the true blue stud of “Lex Vegas” aka University of Kentucky, is a good man. Wow compare his deed to those of the other team in the state of Kentucky.. what a difference.

Video of the Week:

Last week’s video was Jamie Kennedy and the pool.. soon after I featured it, he broke up with his girlfriend Jennifer Love Hewitt… hmmm could it be a “From the Fabricator” love jinx? Anyway this week’s video is awesome, probably the most amazing shoot out goal you will ever see… and it was by a 9 year old! Could we be watching the next Sid Crosby here? Even if you don’t like hockey, give this video a whirl…

Not taking the "LEED"

Every once in a while I get reminded of things that frustrate me. Actually that happens pretty much daily these days. My temper is stupidly short and it’s driving me crazy. Anyway that’s my problem, not yours. The issue at hand today is LEED and the value that it is “supposed” to add to a project. I was sent this interesting article on LEED and it really got me going. You know what its crazy how much power this thing has. I have mentioned in passing on past posts that many people think I should spend more time talking about LEED then ripping the NFRC and you know what I think they may be right. But for the time being I think the bloom is coming off the LEED rose. Building owners are going to surely want more from their building than a big gigantic plaque on the wall and if LEED’s changes don’t deliver that it surely will be interesting on how this thing progresses in a tough market.

Elsewhere…

-- By the way, can anyone answer how 500 miles is the “magic” distance in the LEED world? As a biddy mentioned to me, why 500 and not 400 or 600? What’s the science?

-- Speaking of LEED, correction here- last week’s post about Kawneer’s LEED blog attributed the column to Les Seasholtz, it was actually written by Eddie Bugg. Sorry for that, always want to give credit where credit due.

-- And last on this… for this week anyway… anyone going to GreenBuild? Hey at least it’s Phoenix in November and considering it’s already winter in the Midwest that’s an enticement for sure.

-- Saw the excellent article/interview with Tom Harris on USGNN last week. No doubt this is a good man, class act and someone who will surely be heard from again in our industry. You have to have a ton of respect for what he’s accomplished that’s for sure.

-- NFRC… its election time and guess what… they have 4 seats open and 4 candidates running! Now that’s an election baby! Just when you think this group has turned the corner some (John Lewis) they screw it up and can’t have a normal election…(hmmm I wonder why?) A few years ago when we were fighting for change the NFRC election had the most candidates and most votes ever… then they kept the status quo- we couldn’t get traction (for obvious reasons- like having Marcia Falke run in a category that should be fabricators) and now you have a totally worthless election… yep somewhere Marc LaFrance still thinks this group represents a consensus of our industry despite the fact no one wants anything to do with it because it will never be able to be changed. Anyone with a hint of logic knows better…. Anyway I am telling everyone to vote for Mr Abstain…. Afterall “abstain” almost won a few years ago….

-- Funniest part for me is TRACO keeps their seat that Mike Manteghi held for the last few years by sending his co worker Sneh Kumar. Just remember when you get caught in the NFRC mess what company helped push it…. And don’t worry I’ll remind you if you forget. And I know people at TRACO hate me, they share that with everyone out there… and that’s fine but I sleep well at night that I fight hard for the industry I love. (And sadly I am sure I'll get in trouble for saying it, but this is MY opinion.....so when you get mad my TRACO buds, stay mad at me...)

-- Baseball is down to its “Final Four” and I gotta think the powers that be would kill for a Yankee/Dodger series… the ratings would be unreal. Now if they could get the games to last less than War & Peace it would be really awesome.

-- Does the stock market amaze you? Over 10,000 and yet credit still virtually frozen and unemployment is rampant. Just very odd… I am not an econ guy so I just don’t get why certain things happen. But this one is pretty mystifying to me.

-- My “favorite” Senator Olympia Snowe was all over the news this week… beware folks, wait til she throws in some goofy provision in the health care reform at 3AM because someone told her it was a good idea… scary how much power some people have…

-- I swear I’ll be in a better mood next week! If not I may be sleeping on the back porch.

Off to the Links….

Links from the hardest working woman in the blog-world… the “Link Chick”…

-- Want Yankee tickets? Mortgage the house… twice…. Great piece here about greed and loyalty.

-- Pet Bear kills a woman…. Ummm since when did a Bear become a pet?

-- MUST READ.. the Top 10 “Bubbles” due to burst… #1 on the list is good and bad….

Video of the Week:

This week the video comes via my brother…. Very funny and crude that’s for sure… not sure I’d belong to this club…

Staying on top of it...

First up, response has been solid to the call for action from GANA on the whole ASHRAE issue but there’s still some people who have not weighed in… seriously if you haven’t jumped in on this, you need to. If you don’t care about losing work, then good for you, but for the rest of us in the real world, getting involved in this issue is an absolute must. Last week GANA presented their argument at subcommittee hearings in Atlanta and things went well, but this is only the start, we are still nowhere near to being out of the woods yet. Get involved. Plus, the people doing the talking right now, namely Stanley Yee and Helen Sanders are spectacular. They are not conspiratorial hacks like yours truly. They are top notch, classy and intelligent professionals who we are blessed to have speaking for us. Throw in the efforts of everyone else on the GANA energy committee and you have a group worthy of your support. Get with GANA today.
Plus knowing that GANA's Urmilla Jokhu-Sowell is a fan of "24" gives me confidence that she has some Jack Bauer qualities that we need representing us!

Elsewhere…

-- Last week my post was not linked, so if you missed it, keep paging down. There are people who got props in that post who deserve the heads up the blog just gave them (and to reach the whole audience!)

-- Still little movement covering the credit crisis in this country BUT the Wall Street Journal did have an op-ed on it last week. Great piece here on this whole debacle that somehow is getting little to no coverage.

-- What a week for fans of Minnesota sports teams… Monday the Vikes win a big one (They sacked the Packer QB so many times that I think I even saw Garret Henson get one or two) Tuesday the Twins win an amazing playoff game vs the Tigers and then the Wild cap off the night with a 4-3 win after being down 3-0. Karma is rolling in the twin cities direction that’s for sure.

-- Leftover from the GlassBuild show… heard some good things… the biggest is “quality over quantity” of visitors and that’s usually the case in Atlanta anyway. The people who go to Atlanta usually go because they have to… the people who go to Vegas (when it’s there) go because they “want” to. I also heard that the Walker Texture booth was jam packed but those guys stopped returning phone calls and e-mails from me, they are now big time and will only talk to accredited media… not bloggers.

-- The Kawneer blog had a great take on LEED… or LEEDS… or LEDD… or whatever you want to call that famous green building program. It is comical how people look at it and try to communicate it and Eddie Bugg did a nice job breaking it all down as it’s one thing to get the jist of the program, but it’s another to actually call the program by its proper name…. (and in some parts of the world they call it “rip off” but that’s another story… for another time)

-- Congrats to Guardian for the coverage of their ShowerGuard product on “Bathtastic”… I love it when our industry gets positive press and this surely was. This is not the first time ShowerGuard has appeared on TV, so it’s pretty cool the coverage continues to come their way.

-- Last, a tremendous addition to the blog world in Chuck Knickerbocker. He brings some great experience and passion to our fair medium and I think you will enjoy his insights. In case you missed it, his debut post ran on Wednesday and is HERE.

Book of the Week:

On Rocky Top by Clay Travis- First if you are a fan of the University of Tennessee football, then you probably already read this. If not it’s a must. But if you are just a college football fan and you want a really cool and unique inside look at a major college program about to go through big changes, this book is it. What “Season on the Brink” was to hoop, this book is to football… good stuff…

Off to the Links:

The “Link Chick” came through yet again… here’s some of her best of the week…

-- I’m a casual guy but this lawyer who wants to wear jeans and a baseball hat in court is waaaay too casual for me…

-- Not only did the “Link Chick” send this to me, but so did several other people… it’s about how Detroit is so broke that we can’t bury our dead… yep I live here…

-- The Empire State Building honored China last week… oh yippee….


Video of the Week:

From old friend and co worker John Lang…. ah dating in the 60’s with a bit of cluelessness…. funny stuff...

Scammers

Leaving the glass show coverage to the professionals…. My top story this week is the continued attempts by scammers to rip you off. You know the e mails you get asking you for 40 pieces of glass 30 x 30 and asking what terms of payment you desire? Every day I get one of these bogus requests and it just amazes me that somewhere along the way someone is falling for it. It’s the preying on people who are slower than normal, and need the work. While I have no idea how people get away with this and also have the time and wherewithal to pull of this scam, it’s just sad t hat it happens. So folks, be vigilant… and seriously is something just drops in your lap and it sounds too good to be true… it probably is….

Elsewhere...

-- The other funny daily e mail I get is from a firm in China who sends their pitch with a picture of a very attractive woman at the bottom. You know so you think it’s coming from her. That’s a classic! Yep, we’re all so stupid here that the hot babe at the bottom of the page will make us want to call RIGHT NOW!

-- A little late on this but major props to the gang at Technoform. A few weeks ago they put out a must download and read white paper on the always evolving fenestration codes. If you missed (shame) it’s here for the reading and saving. Good stuff and props to the people at Technoform who put it together.

-- I guess that more positive Architectural Billings Index in July was a mirage eh? Add that to some of the numbers I am hearing coming out of the show and man 2010 does not look good.

-- Speaking on not looking good if anyone can locate the 2009 Steeler Defense and return them to the field for the late 4th quarter of games all Steeler fans would be appreciative.

-- And while I am on the sports angle… Hockey starts Thursday… good to have the sport back… but if you have Direct TV you won’t be able to see much hockey since Direct TV doesn’t carry Versus anymore and that’s where the NHL has its contract… maybe for their next deal the NHL will sign with a real firm, like Key Communications…

-- One thing I am sorry I missed at the show was the Glass Executive Forum and the panel with Henry Taylor, Rod Van Buskirk and Newton Little. I really like and respect all three of those men and I am sure they put on a fantastic piece. Plus I can say I knew Henry before he became “famous”

Off to the links…

Still tons of links piling up from weekly scans by the awesome “Link Chick”… here’s a few for your enjoyment…

-- If you eat out a lot then you probably should read this article… it’s the top 10 dirty little restaurant secrets…. Or maybe you shouldn’t on 2nd thought… good article though.

-- What do you get when you mix alcohol, nudity, Florida and a 91 year old man? A pretty wild story.

-- A tremendous read on a High school football game touched by tragedy but saved by class.

Video of the Week:

Not sure if you saw the Conan O’Brien fall this week… but here it is… head hits the floor hard...guess he got a concussion and missed a show…

Call to Action

This is the most important blog post you will ever read… well at least this week that is. But seriously, it’s a call for action because despite the tough economic conditions out there, business still goes on and more importantly codes still get written and enacted. If you don’t take the time to read the info below and reply, then you are doing your company and your industry a disservice.
Ok here’s the deal. As I have noted here a few times, glass and the use of glass is under attack. Basically there are many people out there who would have no problem with seeing buildings with a lot less glass on them. And some of those people have power when it comes to the codes. As an industry we are at a weakness because unfortunately the Glass Industry Code Committee is dissolving. However the Glass Association of North America (GANA) is willing and able to step into the fray and fight on for us… for the industry. But to do this, they need your support. If you are a GANA member you should’ve gotten a survey on this topic. You need to get that survey filled out and back to GANA. The goal is to see if the support is there within the organization to have GANA adopt the GICC charter and keep up and advance the efforts at the code level.
This one is serious and legit. Glass gets beat on because of its alleged lack of energy properties but you and I both know that’s a crock. If the codes get pushed and glass area gets reduced that will hurt us on every level. Right now the industry has a great consensus going on behalf of this issue, but when it comes to the GANA membership we are still missing a portion of the input that is needed.
I have to note, this plea is from me and not GANA. I am not a board member and I do this as an independent, industry caring person. And also someone who loves to sell glass and would hate to see square footage go away unnecessarily. So step up- get with GANA and protect your future interests today! If you need or want more details on this, feel free to e mail me at maxbcat@aol.com for more info.

Elsewhere…

-- Paul Bieber wrote a great piece in his blog this week about his old plant in CT closing. If you missed it, click HERE. Tough go of it right now folks… and speaking of that… these tough times are claiming some very talented people, one of them being Tim Moore. I have worked with Tim for years and he’s pretty freakin incredible on the tech side. I would hope if you are in the market for one of the greatest technical minds around, you contact Tim. His e-mail is tjbearmoore@aol.com .

-- The New York Times had an article on the solar industry recently and there was a great comparison in there… basically it said this… what’s the difference between getting oil from the middle east and solar panels from China…. Fantastic comment… we want energy independence but we’re not headed that way with some of the maneuvers going on in the solar world… and yes I did catch the tariff on Chinese tires that hit last week… now waiting for that protection to come to the glass/solar side. (Yep I know starting a trade war is bad…. But still….)

-- The Twitter Top 10… last blog I listed a national list… well its time for the top 10 that I think are interesting- both from an industry and interest standpoint. If you don’t twitter than you can skip, but if you do, I’d go find these guys and follow them….Here they are:

10. /Solarfeeds- You want to follow the solar world, its here… they update it like 1000 times a day.

9. /greenbizdaily- Great green news and info

8. /NatGlassAssoc- Very good effort in keeping it updated, and uses twitter well to prop the upcoming show as well.

7. /aluminumnews- links on the other side of our business

6. /darrenrovell1- He is CNBC’s sports marketing reporter (gosh that’s a dream job!!) and he always has pretty cool tweets.

5. /jaketapper – He is ABC’s chief White House reporter… it is worth the read to see people on the right accuse him of being a liberal and people on the left accuse him of being a neo-con. And best is he replies to these folks.

4. /glassnation- this is GANA’s contribution and great stuff.

3. /usglass- Yep I am suck up, but seriously like what they do and a great way to get the news quick.

2. /sportsguy33 – this is the page of Bill Simmons who is ESPN’s sports guy. Simply the top sports writer in the US today- bar none. No one mixes pop culture and great sports insight like he does. (well I do, but I am in the glass industry)

And #1 on my unofficial list…

/PPGIndustries- Many reasons… they were the first of our industry out… they update it a ton (which is a brutal task) and the stuff they update it with has been pretty cool. Our industry gets picked on for being slow and behind the times, but at least in this case PPG was right on it.

Off to the links…

The “link chick” did not take the week off like I did so I have like 3000 stories from her… I may actually do a post over the weekend with the overflow… especially since I know many of you only read this blog for this section!!

-- Classic… the top most bizarre playgrounds in the world…. Yeah not sure I’d let my kids near any of em.

-- A story that makes you wonder how they figure this stuff out… ready…. Give a cow a better mattress and they produce more milk…. It’s true!

-- And the best of the week… as someone who has placed his share of bizarre ads, here’s a look at ad’s that had some really bad placements… great stuff…

Video of the Week:

This is fantastic video of two Clemson football fans just completely devastated after they lost to Georgia Tech… the best part is the announcers just having a field day with these guys… I am guessing this guy had a ton of money on the game…

No post this week

After 267 posts, and pretty much at least one post per week for 4 years, I am taking this week off. I'll be back next week with the Top 10 Twitter list and probably some sort of slam on communist chinese NFRC members that also are lawyers. (or Bankers, since they are more evil than lawyers these days... and remember any law rant does not include the legendary Kim Mann- he's not "one of them")

Hope everyone is well....

Brutal Banks

I was heartened by the reaction from last week’s blog and the top story of the banks and frozen credit. It’s nice to see it wasn’t just me. However the scary things keep propping up- whether it’s the report of a Bear market ahead or even a full scale depression, the economic news has not been cherry. So the media’s lack of focus on this and the governments lack of action or discussion is pretty frightening. Then again those of you who know me, know that I am a natural reactionary and prone to over-hype, so maybe this is much ado…

Elsewhere…

-- From all accounts last week’s GANA Fall conference went very well. Congrats to all who put it together.

-- I was one of the thousands that watched the webcast on the last day and was impressed by the line-up of speakers and their messages. Of course the highlite for me was the presentation by John Lewis of NFRC… and I came away impressed. As some of you know who have been following this adventure, John came to NFRC after a stint at AAMA, so he was keenly aware of all of the shenanigans that have gone on. I think that and the fact that John is just a good man, have given some perspective and open-ness that the NFRC has never had before. John’s presentation at Fall Conference was very good overall- especially in tone. He did not talk down to the audience or accuse them of being cheaters. He surely did not call them rats or tell them the reason NFRC is doing this is because they can’t be trusted. (As past NFRC speakers have)He took the high road and probably came away with more people wanting to help than has happened in the last 5+ years of this debacle combined.


-- Basically if John Lewis was in charge in 2004, this program may already be done and good. Instead he has to do massive goodwill to make up for the lack of transparency or care that was perpetrated by his predecessors. There is no doubt there are still warts and roadblocks with this program, but at least it’s in hands that I think are trustable. The problem still lies within the need of the program itself, how it was put together and who ultimately benefits. As long as the labs and inspection agencies can gain financially while all of us have to pay for a program no one actually called for, that’s going to be a problem.

-- Ok moving on… as ½ my audience just clicked away….

-- Still a relatively quiet Hurricane season… but got this very interesting article from Dr. Culp… can Bill Gates stop hurricanes? (No Bill.. No, just Hurricane Impact Glass and Metal can!!!)

-- One of the things that I have endorsed in the past is learning during the slow times. Education and advancement of such is a big item to me. So much so that I am personally involved with the Glass Management Institute. I believe in what this program has to offer overall and the instructors that have signed on are top notch (and heck of a lot better than me!). Anyway, learn or send your folks to learn- get ahead of the curve. Click here for more info.

-- A couple of weeks ago USGNN did a note on the scams that are continuing through the industry. It really has become amazing that these scammers continue to try. I get 2-3 e-mails a day from these shysters. It’s really a sad thing that is happening here, nothing worse than praying on vulnerable people.


-- Football kicks off Thursday night with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers… so time to make my predictions for this year… as much as I love the Steelers, I am not taking them to repeat… just too tough… so your new champs will be….. and it hurts to type this… the New England Patriots… ugh. Hopefully this prediction goes as well as my $4 for gallon of gas by July 09…


-- Last, saw that there’s a new group out there… the Global Glass Conservation Alliance…. The odd thing was, as far as I could follow from their press release, The National Windshield Repair Association… doesn’t the new makeover seem like a jump? Anyway I am going to research before I endorse or scorch, but on first blush I am leery.


Off to the LINKS….


The “Link Chick” checks in a bevy of goodness….


-- From Power Ranger to MMA fighter? Look out for Tommy Oliver… (and by the way for you Power Ranger fans, Dino Thunder was the best…)

-- The Top 10 Twitter feeds you should follow…. According to CNN… which makes me want to do my own list… and I think I will… look for it next week!

-- And speaking of “Twitter” it’s now a word in the dictionary… that and 263 other new words…


Video of the Week…


A few weeks ago I ran a video with a TV Reporter having a mishap with a skateboard. Well from the same site, another “Failure” but this one is maybe more brutal… the proposal… in public… oh my…

The secret of frozen credit markets

Last week I teased the latest release of the Architectural Billings Index (ABI). The July report was surely more positive than the previous editions but still treading below where it used to be. But the telling part of the story was a quote by the AIA’s chief economist. He commented that one of the reasons that business is tough right now is that the banks are not lending. And in that comment you have the dirtiest little secret around. The biggest story in this country shouldn’t be the health care or Cap and Trade debacles. It should be that the credit markets are still frozen and despite TARP’s, bailouts and stimuli, credit is NOT flowing- thus hampering everything and everyone in its path. Why this issue is getting no media scrutiny is beyond me, but it is a huge reason that architects are not drawing and commercial construction is stuck in the mud.


Elsewhere…


-- MUST SEE TV….errrr WEBCAST… Thursday (and I know most people don’t read this until Thursday PM, but there’s many who check this out Weds nights when I post) at 8AM CST. The Webcast is live from the GANA Fall conference in Kansas City for the energy portion of the event. The webcast is being sponsored by the fine folks at that up n coming publication Solar Glazing Magazine. So hopefully you get to check it out, it really should be pretty interesting based on the speaker line up. For more information and to jump on to the webcast go to GANA’s website at www.glasswebsite.com or just click HERE!


-- Speaking of GANA, I just hate not being at the Fall Conference… hearing from many people that are there and the reviews have been excellent. Good crowd, strong discussions. Exactly what you expect from a GANA event.


-- The world of LEED has been taking some hits lately…. This week the New York Times weighed in with a piece about the grumblings on whether or not in the long run LEED is worth it. Here’s the article but best line in there was along the lines of “they should have removable screws for the plaques they put up”…. I love it…. It’s funny how many times I hear that the biggest part of LEED is getting that plaque… and not what it’s supposed to do for the building.


-- One more weekend of fake NFL Football and then the real thing… ah I can’t wait! Plus College football starts this weekend… excellent!


-- Short post this week… just way too much going on in the “real” world….


Off to the links!


Thank goodness for the “Link Chick”…. And when I tell her she gets compliments all the time, she totally doesn’t believe it… c’mon like someone in the glass industry would lie?


-- Traveling sucks enough but can you imagine having to stay at a place with beds made of hay? Yeesh!

-- Only in China… they have a basketball league for shorter folks and what happens when someone “too tall” tries to join… mayhem…

-- Can you believe there was still a working bartender left over from the days of prohibition? Well there was… and he just served his last drink…

Comic of the week:
Marg Webb sent this to me…. And it really reminds me of an organization that we all know and love…. click on the comic to make it bigger and easier to read!




Video of the week:
Thanks to Brian Pitman who I know is swamped this week… but he found time to send this quick instant classic in… a ball boy at the US Open… not real graceful…

Another "E" for the DOE

I hammer the Department of Energy a lot and its makes some you squeamish. However they are really deserving of the bashing. Today’s latest? A story in the New York Times about the fact that the DOE doesn’t pay attention to its thermostats! Yes instead of putting in controls to dial thermostats back when people aren’t in their buildings they just let em run! A recent audit shows they could save 11.5 million in annual energy costs by just doing what they tell all of us to do! It’s another classic example of their pathetic waste and why they are allowed to run that division so poorly, when energy is so crucial is a mystery. So add this to the DOE giving money away like candy, blindly allowing the NFRC and other special interests to dominate them, and failing to control their own efficiencies. The NYT piece in its depressing glory is HERE.

Elsewhere…

-- If it wasn’t already clear enough, the Chinese influence in our lives is pretty severe. This week on the Solar side one of the biggest solar players, Suntech, said the following in the New York Times:
In response to this, and to reduce shipping costs, Suntech plans to announce in the next month or two that it will build a solar panel assembly plant in the United States, said Steven Chan, its president for global sales and marketing. “It’ll be to facilitate sales — ‘buy American’ and things like that,” Mr. Chan said, adding that the factory would have 75 to 150 workers and be located in Phoenix, or somewhere in Texas.
So no need to hide this it’s pretty obvious… you know so they can meet that pesky “Buy American” and things like that…. Yep keep supporting these guys as it’s just a matter of time before they come take your business. By the way in the same article, Suntech said they’d sell solar panels below cost to gain market share too… that’s a healthy maneuver… but they can do that because their government will subsidize them… while our government subsidizes some of the most worthless things ever. And they noted that they have gotten involved with the solar trade groups in order to protect themselves…. Unreal.

-- Speaking of subsidies… the all famous Stimulus money is being used for interesting things… it was reported this week:
Among the most titillating grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health are studies that would:
* Examine "barriers to correct condom use" at Indiana University, at a cost of $221,000.
* Study "hookups" among adolescents at Syracuse University. Study's cost: $219,000.
* Evaluate "drug use as a sex enhancer" in an analysis of "high-risk community sex networks" at the University of Illinois, Chicago. That study will cost $123,000.
* Study how methamphetamine, thought to produce an "insatiable need" for sex among users, "enhances the motivation for female rat sexual behavior." Some $28,000 has been awarded for the University of Maryland at Baltimore study

Yep and while that million or so would not make a dent in the deficit it surely could be put to better use. But I have to ask, how do you get to lead one of those studies and what do you do? Have people out on the street asking if they know how to put their condom on right? I mean seriously?

-- The power of Twitter… GM used the reaction and posts on Twitter to help decide the fate of a new Buick concept vehicle. The “Twitterers” or “Tweeters” said they did not like it and thus GM/Buick killed it. So when people say that social media is just for telling people inane things, evidently some people are taking it very seriously.

-- Speaking of Twitter, the gang at USGlass have been using it to tease the world on their next issue. Evidently it’s a blockbuster… and most likely it gets that status because this month’s offering will NOT feature an article by yours truly….

-- Hey when can we do “Cash” for single pane windows?

-- The latest ABI is out and it actually has better news to it. I'll get into that more next week as a part of the analysis was very interesting.

Off to the Links!

-- Ok maybe this is worse than the above Stimulus sex spending…. A study on if Zombies existed how we would handle an attack…. Yep…. Man people have waaaay too much time on their hands.

-- I am not a fan of the writer Rick Reilly, but this piece on kids who have a rare disease going to Yankee stadium is excellent.

-- Uh oh, beware the killer cow?

Video of the week:

Classic TV news blooper… reporter tries to show her skateboarding “ability” and well you can pretty much guess what happens…

BIM me up Scotty

The story of BIM (Building Information Modeling) has been one that continues to stay in the news. What looked like a “flash in the pan” effect has withered away and every day the BIM movement gets traction. The big move this week was the announcement in Texas that the state facility commission will use BIM for its projects. Steps like this obviously push more legitimacy to BIM which really has been lacking it thanks to many platforms, suppliers and overall styles. Not to mention costs that are pretty intense too. I have been on both sides of the BIM argument (yes I am a flip flopper) as I see the value but I also felt like there’s more hype than true substance. On the value side, it surely could help speed processes and make people more efficient. On the hype side, it’s not everywhere yet, and there’s still a massive majority of architects just not ready to dive in. In any case news like the Texas announcement move the process forward, now we’ll see if some of the issues that plague BIM (platforms, costs etc) will even out and allow it to become more mainstream.

Elsewhere….

-- By the way, the newest issue of USGlass also has some serious BIM info in it too... always leave it to the talented people there to stay on top of the trends.

-- On the rough side, I have been getting comments and e mails regarding some depressing news in our industry… and yes I have chosen NOT to print it as it is not confirmed. And yes I know I am hypocrite because I did stuff like that in the past… so hammer away at me. But maybe this is me turning over a new leaf as I think I am like many of you out there, just not interested in wallowing someone else’s misery. And right now, there’s a lot of misery… (and if you are not miserable then you are in denial)

-- I am also totally depressed that due to a scheduling snafu I won’t be at GANA’s Fall conference. I was so looking forward to the epic return of Greg Carney and also seeing the great things about our industry. So many good and talented people in one place does help to inspire me and focus. Funny, I am sure there are a couple hundred people who WILL be at Fall Conference thrilled that they know I won’t be there!

-- Greenwashing… yes the process of over-selling your “green” ability has always been an issue… now for those of you who care about this stuff, there’s a 41 page report on the evils of greenwashing… it’s here and it’s actually somewhat interesting…

-- One of the greatest movie lines of all time was from “Stripes” and it was:

John Winger: C’mon, it’s Czechoslovakia, we zip in, we pick em right up, we zip right out again. We’re not going to Moscow, its Czechoslovakia! It’s like going into Wisconsin!
Russell Ziskey: Well I got the **** kicked out of me in Wisconsin once. Forget it!

Well last week, the meaning of getting the crap kicked out of you in Wisconsin came out when a would be robber walked into a bar with the intention of holding it up… except he picked a bar in Janesville, WI that was hosting a night out for Wisconsin POLICE officers! Needless to say… he got the **** kicked out of him in Wisconsin! Life imitates art… I love it.

-- Sad news on the passing of Peter Lisec. Our condolences to his family and the folks at Lisec. You know you are legend when your name is used the way his was. The “Lisec” line is akin to using Kleenex or eating Jell-O. And for most people in our industry automated machinery started and ended with the Lisec products. Obviously a great loss for the industry.

-- Amazing that this week saw our first foray into Hurricane season… but as many people forget Hurricane season goes until November 1st, so there’s a ton of time left to see what happens- though the experts are saying it will be a light season. We will see…. You know the conspiracy theorist in me says we need one to threaten the Gulf, so gas prices can rise just because….

Off to the links…

-- You may not know this but the all famous “link chick” is a world class track and field star…. So I am sure that’s what drives the world’s current fastest man… Usain Bolt with an incredible world record smashing effort…

-- A nun chases down a burglar…. The only thing that would’ve made this story perfect is if the nun was from Wisconsin!

-- And finally, awesome news… the potbelly look is back!! Hooray…. Who needs that diet now! Plus no need to have the Walker boys dress me according to this article, I am in style baby!!

Video of the week:

From the “people have waaaaay too much time on their hands” department…. There’s folks out there that are “mashing” music- basically mixing full songs together… and I was sent one this week- check this out… it’s the classic “We will rock you” set to the tune of Outkast’s “Hey Ya”…. Creative as heck, just wonder who has time to do this stuff!

An old favorite...

After a few weeks of the battles domestically, it’s time to change the focus to an oldie but goody topic. China. Yes my pals from China are back in the news again and it continues to amaze me how they get away with what they do. Last week there was a widely published story on how the Chinese glass industry was doing and it stated the pricing in the marketplace there. But of course when you figured it all out, the pricing of the material being sold in China for that market is double or more the price that they dump…errrr sell it here for. But alas buyer beware as you really do get what you pay for from there. Right now there’s two large jobs, one on each coast, that are turning into quagmires of bad product…. All courtesy of the Chinese. And I have a feeling some North American companies will take some serious heat and hurt while the Chinese reps and suppliers will whistle quietly down the road….
By the way… speaking of the Chinese… one of the largest American Solar panel manufacturers, E Solar, was proud to mention that they bought 24,000 mirrors from China for their last project. Wonderful. And thus the problem with the “green job” theory… the products needed for these “green jobs” will come from China and that is not good for anyone….

Elsewhere…

-- Good news about people working together for the GOOD of the industry… as mentioned here several weeks ago, the newest plan for ASHRAE would limit the overall glass usage on buildings. And while parts of the plan are good, there are parts that are just not logical or helpful for our industry. Well the folks at GANA stepped up and have gotten every main player in our industry on board on promoting a unified message. It is truly wonderful that this unselfish industry first approach took place. Now hopefully the folks at ASHRAE and DOE will take the necessary value in it. But even if they don’t kudos to everyone who did the right thing!

-- Did I re-jinx gas prices? I wrote months ago that gas would go to 4 bucks in the summer… thankfully it didn’t… so I ate the crow and celebrated the lower prices… well since then prices are on the rise again and oil has been trending upward. High gas prices is surely not what we need now or going into what looks like a pretty ugly winter.

-- Class Act alert… the gang at Edgetech IG did a tremendous thing last week acting as the “Rally Point” for a bike run to honor veterans. The bikers were transporting a traveling Vietnam Memorial wall and paid homage to those incredibly brave folks who fought in that war. Very classy and patriotic and props to all involved at Edgetech who made it happen.

-- Last week I linked to the tremendous article on Harvard and their lost endowment cash and I had incredible feedback. I think many went into checking that link with expectations of a blah story about a rich university but got totally engrossed into the amazing story that came out. The comment made by most people after they read it was- “amazing that they could blow so much money”- well sometimes all the smartest people in world can’t keep egos in check….

-- Pre-season football is HERE! And I know it’s horrible to watch but it is football and dang it I am very pumped…. All I can say is… Here we go Steelers… Here we go!

-- Have I told you how big of a sham that lawsuit against the primaries are lately? It just kills me that we will be wasting time, money and resources on the ultimate ambulance chase while so many other more crucial issues happen around us.

Off to the Links!

One e mail last week to me said “too many Max links, not enough Link Chick”- so your wish is my command… 3 good ones from the lady of the links!

-- “Who can it be now”…. Famous line from the 80’s singing group “Men at Work”…well now they are being sued for plagiarism! Wow.

-- A floating apartment complex.... Wonder what the backcharges would be if you needed to set up a swing stage…. Would hate to have any failed IG on this one! Neat stuff…

-- The most “unfortunate” names list… you really wonder what the parents are thinking here…

Pictures of the week...

Instead of a video this week we have pictures of some jobs gone really bad… YIKES!

And here we go again... but with a great twist!

So last week I wrote about the TRACO-Peerless issue and I mentioned that another similar situation was happening on the primary glass side. And thanks to several readers, I got confirmation. Cardinal Glass decided to take a shot at Guardian by having a note out there basically saying that Guardian’s published and tested performances on their Low E glass were wrong. The piece focused on the emissivity values and quite frankly stunned me for many reasons. First it was the whole “taking a shot” angle that I mentioned last week. Second was the fact the Cardinal not only accused Guardian of having wrong totals but they also listed one CARDINAL product as being wrong. (So you are accusing them of something you may be guilty of?) And of course third was the fact that Cardinal is basically not only accusing Guardian of being wrongful, but in turn they are saying that YOU CAN’T TRUST THE NFRC!
These were NFRC tested totals. Cardinal is basically saying they are wrong… hmmmmmm So the mighty NFRC, which Cardinal loves CAN’T BE TRUSTED! Someone wake up Marc LaFrance! Seriously this is an amazing accusation which leads me to ask… if NFRC totals are wrong, why are we suffering through this crap again? As for the issue at hand, Guardian obviously tested everything via NFRC and their procedures and their numbers came out to what was published. Knowing the folks at Guardian, and especially their Science and Tech guys, I am pretty dang confident that there is no way they are in the wrong here. Obviously someone is jealous.... So I think Cardinal is misguided here, while they try to take a shot at Guardian, at the end of the day the finger is actually pointed at NFRC! (Note Cardinal went and had samples they acquired of the Guardian product tested and came up with different totals than the NFRC ones...)
And like last week, when you take a shot like this, to me it shows a serious weakness. To make claims like this instead of trying to sell the products on their merits really shows some desperation. Anyway color me stunned that Cardinal, the biggest NFRC booster around, would basically tell the world that YOU CAN’T TRUST NFRC TOTALS!! Classic!

Maybe the NFRC needs a 3rd party to check their 3rd party stuff eh?

Elsewhere…

-- Speaking of NFRC… class act Chuck Knickerbocker of Technical Glass Products has a tremendous and passionate post online about the NFRC. You can access it HERE. Chuck’s reaction is what most people will have as it starts to go more and more mainstream…

-- Congrats to PPG and Rob Struble on winning a national marketing award from the Business Marketing Association. I know I pick on PPG from time to time, but I have a ton of respect for Rob and the work he does and it’s great that he and his group are getting some recognition. There’s no doubt they deserve it as Rob has consistenty positioned and marketed PPG extremely well over the years.

-- CONFLICT OF INTEREST ALERT! Over the last few years the ICC (International Code Council) has fought back attempts by AAMA to have their 3rd party certification track be considered an equal to NFRC. The NFRC trots out their tried and true supporters and the ICC buckles- despite the logic involved. Anyway now look who is advertising in the ICC newsletter/website…. NFRC… wow… isn’t that special? So the ICC takes ad dollars in from a group that needs their endorsement and support. Filthy. So AAMA, why don’t you advertise in there… maybe it will help your case?

-- Twitter… yes I broke down and now do Twitter. And for the last two days I am taking tons of fun abuse about… Twitter….

-- Now while I may Twitter I actually don’t watch American Idol (doesn’t Twittering and watching AI go hand in hand?) so I am one of the people who have no idea why the outrage over Paula Abdul not coming back to the show. My brother on the other hand is an AI expert so I’ll have to ask him for the proper insight. Now that Paula has time on her hands she can come to Atlanta and work Glassbuild…

Off to the LINKS…

-- Another article on the Cap & Trade… this one talking about costs. It’s funny health care came about and Cap & Trade really fell to the background… just wish it would fall all the way off the radar…

-- Long, but worthwhile read on the problems at Harvard… and for those of us in the building industry you can see the BOOM and the bust, just by reading what Harvard did over the last few years. By the way the author of this piece Nina Munk wrote an awesome book about the AOL downfall called “Fools Rush In” and that too is a great read.

-- From the “Link Chick” and this will make you laugh… and cry… a highway sign in dire need of spellcheck!!

Video of the Week:

Also from the “Link Chick” the classic video about a 7 year old taking the family car for a drive… this is some amazing stuff… and at 7 my man is very advanced!

Taking it to a new level

When times get tougher it sometimes forces people to ratchet up the rhetoric. In our industry that rhetoric usually comes in advertisements. And usually the ads intimate differences between brand “a” and brand “b” but rarely do they go into full scale mudslinging specifics. But in the past few weeks that bridge was crossed when TRACO took on Peerless Window with an attack in a newsletter. It was amazing stuff seeing one company just blatantly calling another one out. Peerless answered the bell and returned fire, with class, in my opinion. Still when it gets down to taking a massive potshot like TRACO took, you wonder why they did it and what they expected to gain. Hey we all do it from time to time, but this was a blatant blast that really came off as sour grapes. And yes I admit I am biased. I like the folks from Peerless. And I don’t really care for the TRACO group, pretty much based on their blind love and affection for the disaster of the NFRC CMA program that they pretty much endorsed cluelessly (and pushed) from day 1. Still end of the day, this was a wild event and even crazier is I heard rumblings that something very similar to this is also going down on the primary glass manufacturer level. However I have not gotten anything on paper yet… when I do, I’ll pass along.

And yep I know people will say “wow that’s the pot calling the kettle” when it comes to me and what I do, but this attack was different because of the tone and tact it took. And I give Peerless credit for being classy in the face of this insanity.

EDIT/ADD: Because I am already being asked... Basically TRACO is saying that Peerless is making false claims about some of their products performances. This is actually right from the NFRC playbook... comical.

Elsewhere…

-- By the way… as a special re run…. Because some people “in the know” missed it. The fantastic article from Dr. Helen Sanders of Sage for the GANA Energy committee is HERE. Good stuff.

-- The good ole DOE was back in the news this week. Guess which department wasted tons of energy last year? Yep the Department of ENERGY! Classic “do as we SAY, not as we DO” angle. An audit released last week showed that the DOE lost 11.5 MILLION dollars in wasted energy costs last year. The New York Times wrote about it in more detail here. These guys kill me, maybe they should stop giving money to NFRC and anyone who asks (without justification or legit need) and start to clean up their own house some. Hypocrites of the highest regard.

-- By the way the White House announced that many cabinet secretaries made cost cutting measures to save 104 million next year. Missing from the list…. The DOE.

-- Big weekend coming up… 7-11 is coming out with WWE wresting related souvenir cups…. And my son being the insane fan, will probably be stalking the local 7-11 until he collects em all…

-- For those of you “24” fans out there, the plot for next year has been released. Evidently its Jack trying to stop an assassination. That’s an “old school” plot since that was season 1. I swear they could have Jack Bauer stock shelves at a supermarket and I’d watch.

-- Did you catch the story on USGNN on the ABC’s construction backlog report? I am pretty dense, most of you know that… but I could not for the life of me follow what that index is all about…. Anyway I am an ABI guy… Architectural Billings Index… and that’s been depressing too… maybe I shouldn’t read anything.

-- Last this week… what is a “Green” job? Evidently some controversy is popping up after Newsweek ran a piece (click here) that questioned if any “green” jobs have been created yet… Can you have such a thing as “green job-washing?”

Off to the LINKS…

Link Chick back at it with a vengeance this week…

-- People with the same First and Last names getting married…. Yes its true… what a wild cool rare thing.

-- An Earthquake moves New Zealand… seriously….

-- Very cool list... the top 100 things your kids may never know about. And I can tell you #83 happened to me once. I said to my son, “you wanna go to Kentucky Fried Chicken” and he said “ no way”… I was stunned because I knew he loved it. Well when we passed it, he said “Dad, why not KFC?” And I said “that’s what I offered” to which he replied “No you didn’t, you offered Kentucky Fried Chicken!”

Video of the Week:

A few weeks ago I posted one of those “literal” videos and just could not resist doing it again. This one is a classic Journey tune… and now made even better with this video!!! Just funny stuff….

Something went right this week

This past week I experienced something that stunned me. In one city, a supplier skipped over the glaziers and quoted direct to a developer/GC. Initially no one wanted to make a fuss and so the supplier was going to be able to pull this off. But then something happened. Maybe because it’s slower than normal out there or maybe people just came to their senses. But the glazing community actually stepped up and pressured the supplier to walk from the job… and they did. Reason I am stunned is pretty much everyday people buy from their competition in one way or another. Yet no one seemed to care. Maybe that worm is turning.


Elsewhere....


-- Speaking of worms turning… months ago I predicted $4 a gallon gas. I am so thankful that I was/am wrong. Hate that the economy sucks and that’s part of the reason gas is low, but glad it is as there’s so much pressure on families these days as it is- $4 gas would be awful.


-- A tremendous and bold post by David Walker over at Glassblog (click here) on the Health care bill and its possible effects. No matter your party or your preference you need to check the post and really get familiar with this possible legislation, because it will be game changing.


-- I hate to always be so alarmist here, but there’s so much happening out there with repercussions to your business life, I have to. Another one is a transportation bill that is poking around Washington right now. This bill is basically a roadmap to figure out how to pay for the updates to our roads. And of course the way that will happen is probably taxes as well as new rules for over the road drivers and of course the “environmental” angle. And while we need to keep up on the repairs needed for the roads, something tells me this bill will be so much more and it will cost everyone a lot more in the future.

-- On my last blog Paul DeGray left me a comment that said I have been sounding down in the dumps lately. I am trying not to, but man there’s so many goofy things going on, it’s overwhelming me. But he’s right. Gotta work harder to get back to a lighter time. Thanks for the note Paul!


-- The story that USGNN linked to from Boston was a good read- but check out the comments. That’s where it gets interesting with all of the spontaneous breakage going on and how people dealt with it. I would love to know how much of that came from China… I am betting 85% of those comments.

-- A must read right here from one of my all time favorites, Dr. Helen Sanders of Sage. She does a nice job explaining some of the adventures our industry is facing. Especially note page 2, that page was brilliant.


-- Was asked why I don’t attend NFRC events but yet I still pick on them. And basically it was not worth the money and expense. We sent people for years but they were ignored and downplayed. Hell when you have lopsided votes (and some were very lopsided) but then the board just overturns it any way, what’s the point? Furthermore, aside from the juicy CMA stuff, those meetings were painfully boring. And those who go know that (and even have slept through it!)


-- Football training camps start like next week… and its already fall weather too! (well the fall weather part sucks.. but football season is awesome!)

To the LINKS…


-- Vanity Fair had this great read on the AIG situation… long piece but very interesting. The issues at AIG were not as simple as they appeared.

-- And keeping the “Wall Street” theme, the “link chick” checks in with a story on Goldman Sachs biting the hand that fed it.

-- Another thing from our past going bye bye… the big blue Mail Box….

Pictures of the week


You may have seen these already but this is a building in China… that fell over…. Yep keep ordering stuff from over there… it won’t fail ya… (like the tires or drywall too!) Seriously it looks fake but the entire building just fell over!!

























Video of the Week

You may have heard that world class soccer player David Beckham is not too happy playing here in the States… well evidently the fans of his team aren’t happy either. This is amazing as just 2 years ago the guy was the “savior” of American soccer… and now…not so much.

NFRC Day 2

Another quick post...

Rare good news from an NFRC meeting... a grant was given for a study by IGMA... amazing actually... I thought the only money went to board members and friends of board members.

It makes me think back.... I wonder how that 30 grand was used by Gary Curtis to educate the architects on CMA a few years ago.... Yep that was probably money well spent (SERIOUS SARCASM)...especially since no one still knows or understands the Titanic outside of us few people who pay attention to this stuff.

Gary is listed to be at this meeting, if you are there you should ask him how those meetings went!

Regardless, nice that a good organization like IGMA at least gets some love.

But all in all you add the money this group spends on people like Potomac (who seemingly add nothing) and now a high powered marketer (because they have to beg people to use their program) and its pretty amazing that they get away with it. That money could be used to work better with their "Consensus" to defray costs (and don't give me the BS grandfather clauses and 33% discounts- thats petty) and help launch programs. But instead they'd rather spend money to stick it down people's throats....

It's sad.. but sadder yet is if this program hits, it will catch people so off guard and the problems it will bring will be unreal. No doubt good people will get burned. But don't worry the test labs and the consultants (like Gary) will be just fine.

Pure Bunk

Quick post... from the NFRC meeting and some of their new "Core Values" released today:

"Consensus driven process- Varied interests working together crafting a balanced approach to our work."

What crap. Votes that go 42-6 and the get overturned by the board is NOT CONSENSUS. This group is unreal.

By the way they did promote everywhere they could that they had a record number of attendees... but its funny, I wonder how many are staff members since they have at least 15 of those now.. (Great that all of us get to pay for that too... NFRC may be the only business in this economy that is actually growing!) how many are board members... how many from Hunter Douglas came to see their guy speak... and how many new labs/consultants showed up for the gravy train to come...

There's more to write on, but we'll save til tomorrow... I just want to let it sink in that these people love to push things that aren't there... and I can tell you any sort of "Consensus" has never been there... unless you include all the people that will make a huge windfall from this upcoming epic disaster...

More later...

Rising from the ASHRAE

A wild week it’s been. Two major issues are floating out there, one that is misrepresenting people’s views and another that could have a terrible effect on our industry. Let’s start with the maneuver at play that could hurt all of us and that’s the move the reduce glass (window areas) by 10% in the next round of ASHRAE codes. Now some people don’t pay any mind on what goes on in these various code groups, and unfortunately because of that, folks that are very unfriendly to our industry are taking our lunches and running away with them. 10% may not seem like a lot to you, but in reality losing that available area is very bad. And I must admit I was one of the people who was missing this ongoing effort until a wise man pointed it out to me. So once again our industry is under attack, will we do anything about it? Or will we just complain about things like the surcharge and just take it because it has no monetary effect right at this second?
And I must note again for the millionth time… our industry is never ever against energy efficiency. What we rail against (for those of people at the DOE who just can’t get it through your thick skulls) is the crap that always gets attached to it. The unnecessary policing, the money grabs, the lack of intelligence or education on how things get done. That’s where we have the issues, but of course it’s always spun as “the glass industry doesn’t want energy efficiency.” Anyway this ASHRAE thing deserves your attention and will be getting mine as we dig into it more.

Elsewhere…

-- Last week a website featuring many glass industry related companies came to light… the site sponsored by the Environmental Defense Fund was showing companies that support “green jobs” but when you dug into it and got more detail you found that the site was being used to show support for the Cap and Trade bill and the whole Carbon adventure. People were being mislead at every level because if your name was on the site you were “supporting” the current Cap & Trade effort. (One example- Congresspeople were being told these companies supported Cap & Trade because they were on the list) AAMA immediately addressed it to its membership and the folks at GANA I know were aware and addressing it via their energy division. Anyway, here’s the site. The key is the site tries to come off as innocent but in reality it’s far from it.

-- The NFRC had a webinar on Wednesday that was pretty interesting. Some basic notes because I know most of the audience has moved on from the NFRC adventure… but I still have to pound away…

-- The DOE will be throwing more money at NFRC… like they actually need it… so this program can go. Funny if the DOE would push the money towards the manufacturers and the people truly affected by the implementation of this boondoggle it would have more potential. But why should they do anything logical?

-- The poor folks in California… especially the glaziers are screwed. They will pay for the sins of terrible code enforcement and blatant cronyism. Gotta be tough enough to do business now in that state how it is and come January 1st its going to get a lot worse.

-- Custom curtainwalls will really suffer under this program and be prepared to spend money and time because both are keys to everything that will happen. Not to mention duplication of efforts to ensure the Keystone Certifications of the world can have an easy living.

-- NFRC has a marketing company out promoting this to code officials and energy providers hoping they’ll push this stuff. Chances are the code guys will love it, it gives them something new to do. Glad the NFRC can spend cash on the marketing company too… that’s why they need money from DOE I guess…

-- The marketing company said the key of this program is it will “show the value of high performance glass” Yep… that’s it… and really it was all a part of the message that you could never trust the performance values you got from the manufacturers. That’s been it from day 1. And that’s a travesty.

-- Last on this, NFRC listed the 675th and 676th reasons we are getting this nightmare. (Remember #1 was the Marv Stover famous “congressional mandate” that did not exist) Yes John Lewis said that this program is needed because it’s good for comparison of products and differentiation of products. Comical.
I could go on and on… but I won’t. I will say John Lewis does have a tremendous radio voice though, so if the NFRC stuff does not pan out, he could easily be a talk show host.

-- Last quick note on Cap and Trade… Window and Door magazine did a poll last week on people’s attitude towards it and 81% said it was bad for the country. Nice to see 81% of the industry has a clue. Just wonder what some of the other folks are thinking…

To the Links…

-- And while we are feeling sorry for California, here’s one… the people who invested in Solar may be about to lose their subsidies…

-- An inmate throws a Bar Mitzvah for his son… behind bars… oh his mother must be so proud.

-- Good story about a good man… after 9 heart surgeries a man spreads his love of music to kids. NINE heart surgeries… my goodness, the line after that could be anything and it would still be a good story.

Video of the WEEK…

The “Link Chick” turns into the “Video of the Week” chick with this submission… very cool bat swinger… I would hurt myself badly…

Digging in to Cap and Trade

Last week I wrote in the Cap & Trade bill that was pushed through congress and for those of you who read it you’ll know I came out significantly against. Anyway over this past weekend, I decided to throw myself into this whole debate (and probably did more studying than the people in Washington who never even read it!) and get all sides of the story. Needless to say it was pretty fascinating. Its funny how one bill could illicit so many opinions and so many of them starkly different… I also consulted with people that I really respect to get their take on it. Anyway here’s a quick synopsis of what I found as I went from every far right website to every far left one…
Overall the funniest part was that the people who were against this bill hated virtually everything about it. But the people who were FOR this bill ALSO hated a lot of it as they thought the bill did not go far enough… So in normal cases you would think if the hard right hates and the hate left hates it then it should be perfect right? But this is not the normal case…. And the reason why is that to get the votes they needed to pass, certain industries and regions were given perks- the biggest among it the farm lobby. So that had both sides up in arms. So you had a watered down bill (for the left) that was still awful (for the right). Same thing from the coal lobby as well… (Basically the not selling of carbon permits at auction is the thing that has both sides a mess since folks like the big utilities and big oil will somehow get these for free… and WE ALL will have to pay for them)
As for our industry, while it pushes more energy efficiency, which is a good thing, it calls for a creation of a national energy code that depending on how that is put together could make the NFRC folly look like a walk in the park. Especially if you have people like Marc LaFrance of the DOE involved… and to make things worse, some of these codes will basically limit the usage of glass (which if you are reading this blog, is your life) so that’s a very scary proposition.
This does not include what the bill will do to the domestic float guys as I covered last week. But there was an interesting angle where the bill called for a tariff on countries that don’t follow a climate plan (China). However the tariff will not be a deterrent because China will have a field day shipping glass and solar panels. Especially since that will be one of the few places to get the material…
All in all, the debate was wild- from the folks at Mother Nature Network to the people at the National Review it really was a battle of wills. I guess it depends on what you think is more important in life. But at the end of the day the thing I found the most interesting was that it really turned into a bill (those of us who read it) no one actually likes. Right or Left.
The Senate has their take now and of course the rancor has begun. While I believe with a 60 person majority (not to mention awful GOP Senators like Olympia Snowe) this thing will pass, but many people I discussed with think it will see dramatic changes before that may happen. So I guess we shall see…

Elsewhere…

-- In my research I came across this line in a Forbes Magazine article…
But the fundamental problem remains. California's economy--once wondrously diverse with aerospace, high-tech, agriculture and international trade--has run aground. Burdened by taxes and ever-growing regulation, (emphasis mine)the state is routinely rated by executives as having among the worst business climates in the nation. No surprise, then, that California's jobs engine has sputtered, and it may be heading toward 15% unemployment.
So there ya go… California is a mess because of regulation and who helped drive the nightmare regulation of the NFRC….hmmmmmm Get ready for Cali style regulation… what a pathetic waste of our resources for a totally unnecessary program….

-- Saw Kawneer is starting a company info blog. I must say it’s a tremendous idea-a great way to get info out and especially if the green legend Henry Taylor posts. But since it’s a blog I wonder if I can post there?????

-- Last… here’s what I don’t get…. The Alliance to Save Energy is this big powerful special interest group… they appear in front of code orgs and do their thing. Well recently the Alliance “founded” another group called the Building Energy Efficient Codes Network (BEECN)… So now they’ll come at it from another angle too. See this is where we miss it- these guys start all of these groups and we actually try and focus our energies on our various mainline groups… So I think AEC, GANA, NGA, IGMA and AAMA should start a couple of new groups too- so then this way that’s more people to send to the microphone at these hearings because they are all from different orgs…. And yes I know this is pretty common but the Aliance gets basically carte blanch so starting another group just will probably make life even more insufferable…

Off to the links…

-- Your wasted tax dollars at work… the government gives 465 MILLION to a car company to “re-tool” for electric and Hybrid cars… oh that company that got 465 MILLION is an ELECTRIC car company… so they need to “re-tool” why?

-- On the Cap and Trade… here’s an interesting and basically biased read from the right. However as a tax payer you should be furious…. No matter what your party..

-- And from the Link Chick… a woman who tries plastic surgery on her face… yikes.

Video of the Week:

My old roommate Brad comes through again… cool concept here… take a video and actually sing what is happening in the video… this is the class “Aha” video “Take on Me” from back in the 80’s… good stuff.