Last week I traveled to Denver to attend and cover the NFRC's summer meeting. While the event resulted in many lively discussions, I'm not going to write about them here, you'll have to visit the www.usgnn.com or the USGlassmag.com "Only Here" page to read the scoop.
Instead I'd like to briefly stray from life in the glass industry, though still about something many of us deal with more often than not. I'm talking about the joys of traveling. I know plenty of you out there probably feel as though you spend more time than you'd like going from airplane to airplane, city to city.
I had a bit of airline drama myself last week traveling home from Denver. My flight departing was right on schedule an even landed in Atlanta early. So I headed from terminal A to terminal C where my flight was scheduled to take me home, departing at 9:55 p.m. I walked to the gate, only to learn there hadbeen a gate change. No worries, that happens all the time. I grabbed a quick bite, made a couple of phone calls and then headed to the new gate only to see, that once again there had been a gate change. Nice. So, once again I headed over to a new gate, only to see we were to be delayed by about 20 minutes, now departing at 10:15. p.m. OK, I said to myself, I can handle 20 minutes.
So I sat down to read a book. As the time approached 10:15 no announcements had been made about the flight ... 10:15 came and went and we finally got an announcement that we had a plane, which was undergoing some maintenance and, by the way, there's been a gate change. This is just getting crazy. So I grabbed my stuff, headed down to the new gate and by now it's pushing 11 p.m. At the new gate we learn we should depart by 12:05 a.m., as we're awaiting an in-bound aircraft ... you can imagine how I'm feeling by now. So I sit, I wait, I read, I make a phone call. Finally the plane arrives, people deplane, the crew prepares for the next flight and finally by midnight or so, we're in the air.
We landed a little before 1:30 a.m., all you need to know now is that I had an hour and 20 minute drive home, which put me getting to bed at around 4 a.m. Got to love travel.
I know this was a departure from what I usually write, but I knew so many of you could relate. I'd love to hear some of your travel stories, so shoot me an email or post a reply here.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
Outdoor Living
Everyone envisions something when thinking of their dream home, right? For me it's an outdoor kitchen, which I got hooked on from watching HGTV. It doesn't have to be one of those top-dollar, high-end, everything's-at-your-fingertips outdoor kitchen, just something simple ... a fun place for entertaining.
Indoor-outdoor living is just one trend in home designs and homebuiling. Homeowners and builders are finding ways to maximize on outdoor space to make it part of the entire living area. What better product to help do that than glass?
One product that is fast-growing in popularity is the opening wall. When closed it seems just like a fixed wall system, but when it's open the entire room becomes part of the outside. And for those with bug or insect concerns, screen systems are also available that work with the walls.
I wouldn't mind building one of these walls into my dream home either ... it could open to my outside kitchen ...but because the walls tend to fall into a higher price category than a traditional French door, for example, you've got to really want it. The best locations are those where there's a killer view--the ocean or snow-capped mountains. That's the other thing--most people tend to think of these products as being only suitable for warm-weather environments. Thanks to efficient glazing and framing technologies they can also be used in cold climates.
The building of my dream house is a ways off. In the meantime I can dream. I will make a list of all the things I would like for it to have, and while there will be some features I will sacrifice, I am sure I will find a few interesting ways to use glass.
Indoor-outdoor living is just one trend in home designs and homebuiling. Homeowners and builders are finding ways to maximize on outdoor space to make it part of the entire living area. What better product to help do that than glass?
One product that is fast-growing in popularity is the opening wall. When closed it seems just like a fixed wall system, but when it's open the entire room becomes part of the outside. And for those with bug or insect concerns, screen systems are also available that work with the walls.
I wouldn't mind building one of these walls into my dream home either ... it could open to my outside kitchen ...but because the walls tend to fall into a higher price category than a traditional French door, for example, you've got to really want it. The best locations are those where there's a killer view--the ocean or snow-capped mountains. That's the other thing--most people tend to think of these products as being only suitable for warm-weather environments. Thanks to efficient glazing and framing technologies they can also be used in cold climates.
The building of my dream house is a ways off. In the meantime I can dream. I will make a list of all the things I would like for it to have, and while there will be some features I will sacrifice, I am sure I will find a few interesting ways to use glass.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Before You Buy ...
In the August issue of USGlass we will be featuring our annual Guide to Equipment & Machinery. It's a special feature that's designed to give companies planning or considering a major equipment purchase information about the types of equipment on the market.
While I myself have never purchased a tempering oven or an IG line, I have made major purchases. And I know that you don't just walk into your realtor's office or onto a car lot and buy the first thing you see. Careful consideration goes into such a purchase, and the same holds true when purchasing glass fabricating or processing machinery.
I asked a friend of mine in the tempering business what he would say are some of the biggest considerations a company should to take before making any major machinery purchase and he told he it all comes down to getting the right machine for the right markets. "Just as you wouldn't buy a Cadillac to haul hay on the farm, you wouldn't buy a 3-ton truck to take the family on vacation," he said.
I'd be interested in hearing some of the lessons you've learned in buying equipment, what advice you'd offer to others and what you think are the number one considerations. Send me an email or post your comments here.
While I myself have never purchased a tempering oven or an IG line, I have made major purchases. And I know that you don't just walk into your realtor's office or onto a car lot and buy the first thing you see. Careful consideration goes into such a purchase, and the same holds true when purchasing glass fabricating or processing machinery.
I asked a friend of mine in the tempering business what he would say are some of the biggest considerations a company should to take before making any major machinery purchase and he told he it all comes down to getting the right machine for the right markets. "Just as you wouldn't buy a Cadillac to haul hay on the farm, you wouldn't buy a 3-ton truck to take the family on vacation," he said.
I'd be interested in hearing some of the lessons you've learned in buying equipment, what advice you'd offer to others and what you think are the number one considerations. Send me an email or post your comments here.
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