Sunday, May 31, 2015

No Worry On Decline... Yet

Is there cause for concern after the latest Architectural Billings Index fell again this past month?  The headlines surely give you pause, but when you dig into the report, it does not look as negative as you may think.  The “New Projects” rating was positive again as was the “Design Contracts” index.   Plus the winter weather may have left a bit of hangover when it comes to the overall performance.  I not only see, but also continue to hear too much positivity and confidence in the economic future of our industry to raise the red flag yet.  Obviously this and the other indexes bear watching but for now, I wouldn’t consider this last report anything but a blip on the radar. 

Elsewhere…

--  Congrats to Tubelite on celebrating their 70th year in business.  Really an incredible and impressive run through some volatile territory and times.

--  Excellent article in the new Glass Magazine on ergonomics in the workplace.  It is a must read, especially when you are talking health and welfare of your plant personnel.  Kudos to Lisec, AGNORA, and all others engaged in this excellent process.

--  Minnesota is home to some of the best minds in our industry.  And now that state has a city that is going to really do something fascinating.  Rochester, MN is working to transform itself and doing so with an ambitious 20 year, 6.5 Billion dollar renewal, that will surely need a lot of glass.  Fast Company magazine has the insight and it’s a great read. 

--  As many know, I am big fan of solar, and I still believe in it.  But even though solar performance is growing and products are improving there’s still a massive reluctance to use it.  The big utilities still stand in the way of solar growth and there are a few states that are letting that happen.  It’s an unfortunate battle that is not good in the end for our environment or energy needs.  It also does affect many in our industry that supply to it, though I do know much of it does come from off shore, it’s still a tough one in any form.

--  For those of you in my generation, a fun documentary to watch… “Atari-Game Over”  is a good one chronicling the rise and fall of Atari with regards to one game and its burial in a landfill.  Technology on gaming has come so far in such a short time, and this documentary was a pretty neat walk through the 80’s and the initial gaming explosion.

--  Last this week, just downloaded a new book I am looking forward to reading.  Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry” is now in my queue and while I will never go back to a blackberry (I love my iPhone) I have a feeling this insider tale may be one to immerse myself in and enjoy.  Once done I’ll provide a review.  Still finishing the current book “Becoming Steve Jobs” which has been solid read for sure.

LINKS of the WEEK

--  Interesting graphic on what your hourly wage would need to be by state to afford a 2 bedroom rental. 

 --  Being a media sort of guy I really enjoyed this piece on layouts gone wrong.  Yikes.  Gotta feel for the people involved here!

--  Never knew this existed and it’s wild.

VIDEO of the WEEK

My good friend Dave Gillikin passed this one to me and its awesome.  It’s the incredible Eminem anthem “Lose Yourself” in sign language.  Extremely impressive. 







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