Trends

Energy from Footsteps

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A company in England has come up with a paving tile that harvests the energy from footsteps.  Pavgen has developed technology that converts the kinetic energy from foot steps into electricity that can be stored and used for a variety of applications.  The tiles are designed to compress 5 millimeters in order to collect the energy.

Pavgen pavers will be installed in the mall at the 2012 London Olympics and are expected to provide enough energy to power half the mall lights.  (See CNN story here.)

*  Image borrowed from CNN.com

Broadband and Bagels Event

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Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is sponsoring an educational meeting to discuss the broadband wireless internet service being utilized by Culver Academies as well as others in our area.  The hope is that this is another way of getting broadband service throughout the county.  If you have a need for broadband internet, you should attend this event to see if it fits your needs.  It is being marketed as a co-op service so increased participation lowers costs!

If you’re interested in attending, contact Pam Davis at MCEDC.

Germaphobia

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I am surrounded by sickness here lately.  Becky has been sick this week and is hacking and coughing and snotty when I go home.  Will and Kathy are both hacking and coughing here at the office.  Kathy has been making fun of me for wiping down my phone after she uses it!

For years I’ve been one of those people that wash my hands in the public restroom and then use the paper towel to open the door when I leave.  Touchless is great, where everything is on sensors and my preference is for bathrooms without doors or with doors that open out, but that doesn’t always work.  I’m not a big fan of the blower dryers for this reason.  

Well, I’ve noticed that I’m apparently not the only one.  More and more public restrooms have trash cans near the exit.  (Keeps me from having to practice my basketball shot across the room!)  I got a little vindication from Commercial Building Products magazine this month when I saw the picture here to the right.  It came with the caption, “Mounting paper-towel dispensers near an exit door provides users the chance to protect themselves from any germs left behind by others.  The conveniently located waste container makes it easy to keep used towels off the floor.”  Good plan!

Outdoor Living Update

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Progress is continuing on the outdoor living project previously discussed here.  The perimeter walls are going up now.  These walls are solid concrete retaining wall block.  They are double sided allowing them to be dry stacked vertically and used as both the inner and outer wall finish.  A separate cap stone will be installed where the wall serves a a seat wall.  Around the kitchen area, shown in the progress picture to the right, a granite counter top will be installed once the stainless steel kitchen appliances and cabinets are in place.  The stone floor progress can be seen in this picture as well.
We are currently waiting for the bar stool structures to be delivered.  They will be installed using a cantilever support system by Seating Innovations that will be mounted to the floor behind the wall.  It will then extend through the wall.  The chairs themselves will be aluminum to simulate the stainless steel finish of the cabinets.  The seats will be cherry.  The seats do not come with an outdoor finish from the factory, so we will be getting them raw and field finishing them with a marine finish.  It will require maintenance, but should be good for several years before retreatment.
We’re installing the ceiling at this time as well.  We are using vinyl soffit material as the ceiling finish.  The flexibility of the vinyl allows it to conform to the wood framework of the barrel ceiling.  The ceiling is being installed using screws to allow for future accessibility.  This will allow access to the attic area for additions or changes to the electrical system or sound system.  Can lighting is being installed throughout along with some ceiling fans and chandeliers.  There are also surround sound speakers planned for enhanced television viewing.   There will be hurricane shutters that require periodic maintenance as well.  When necessary, the ceiling can be removed to access the shutters and actually lower them for service if necessary.

2011 Forty under 40

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Images taken from the Tribune Business Weekly, May 30, 2011
Yesterday I attended the St. Joseph County Chamber of Commerce’s Forty under 40 luncheon at The Gillespie Center in South Bend.  I was there as Chairman of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC).  Jennifer Laurent, MCEDC Executive Director, was one of the honorees.  I was pleased to see that Andrea Cook of The Midas Center in Plymouth was also there as an honoree.  MCEDC is working to increase our regional ties and the recognition of these two influential women from our community can only help this effort.
Tracy Graham, former Notre Dame football player and current South Bend entreprenuer, was the keynote speaker.  He gave a motivational speech on the future of South Bend, refuting some of the negative connotations left by the Newsweek article naming South Bend #8 among America’s dying cities.  The University of Notre Dame, the convergances of transportation nodes and the high speed internet access provided by the Metronet were among a few of the positives he listed.  For better or worse, regionally our fortunes are somewhat linked to those of South Bend.
 
Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County and the Tribune Business Weekly for recognizing two of Marshall County’s bright young women.  Now we need to press the honorees to continue their efforts and not rest on their laurels.  Jennifer?  Andrea?  We’re waiting!  What are you going to do next to put Marshall County in the spotlight and on the map?  Best wishes for future successes!