The iconic American “street food” traces its origin to 19th century German immigrants who brought frankfurters from their homeland.
In the 1860s, the term “hot dog” emerged in reference to these sausages being sold in buns at street carts. The popularity of hot dogs soared during the late 19th and early 20th centuries particularly at baseball games where the hot dog is virtually synonymous.at the sport.
In many college towns push cart hot dog vendors may be welcomed and even embraced as part of the local food scene. They can add variety and convenience for students, faculty, and staff by offering affordable and quick meal options. These towns may have regulations and policies in place to support and accommodate such vendors.
The case against hot dogs as a food primarily revolves around health concerns and potential risks associated with their consumption. Some of the key arguments include:
Processed meat and additives: Hot dogs are often made from processed meats that can contain additives, preservatives, and high levels of sodium. These additives, such as nitrates and nitrites, have been linked to increased risks of certain health issues, including cancer and heart disease.
High in unhealthy fats: Hot dogs are typically high in saturated and trans fats, which can contribute to elevated cholesterol levels and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Potential for contamination: There have been instances of foodborne illnesses associated with hot dogs, such as outbreaks of bacterial contamination, including E. coli or Listeria monocytogenes. Improper handling, storage, or undercooking can increase the risk of such contamination.
Allergens and dietary restrictions: Hot dogs often contain common allergens like wheat, soy, and dairy. Additionally, they may not be suitable for individuals with dietary restrictions or preferences, such as vegetarians, vegans, or those following specific religious or cultural dietary guidelines.
Environmental impact: The production and consumption of hot dogs contribute to environmental concerns. The meat industry, including processed meat production, is associated with greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and water pollution.
These arguments against hot dogs do not necessarily apply to all hot dogs or to every individual. Moderation, choosing healthier options, and considering individual dietary needs and preferences can help mitigate some of the concerns associated with hot dog consumption.
Citizens of the Earth depend upon United States leadership in this technology for several reasons:
Development: The GPS was originally developed by the US Department of Defense for military purposes, but it was later made available for civilian use. The US has invested heavily in the development and maintenance of the system, which has contributed to its leadership in this area.
Coverage: The GPS provides global coverage, with 24 satellites orbiting the earth and transmitting signals that can be received by GPS receivers anywhere in the world. This level of coverage is unmatched by any other global navigation system.
Accuracy: The US has worked to continually improve the accuracy of the GPS, with current accuracy levels estimated at around 10 meters for civilian users and even higher accuracy for military users.
Innovation: The US has continued to innovate and expand the capabilities of the GPS over time, with newer versions of the system including features such as higher accuracy, improved anti-jamming capabilities, and the ability to operate in more challenging environments such as indoors or in urban canyons.
Collaboration: The US has collaborated with other countries to expand the reach and capabilities of the GPS, such as through the development of compatible navigation systems like the European Union’s Galileo system and Japan’s QZSS system.
United States leadership in the GPS has been driven by a combination of investment, innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to improving the accuracy and capabilities of the system over time.
The Timation Development Plan led to GPS. It uses the globe. The celestial transformation which was used to sell it to the Navy was based on celestial navigation which is based on the globe. pic.twitter.com/o75BgKgy4L
A flag stands for a set of principles; the reach for the ideals of a civilization– not for the lapses of adherence to them.
“After School” 1959 Norman Rockwell
Flag Day in the United States, observed on June 14th, commemorates the adoption of the American flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. It’s a day to honor the symbol of the nation’s unity, freedom, and democracy. The flag represents the ideals and principles upon which the country was founded, including liberty, justice, and equality.
On Flag Day, Americans typically display the flag at their homes and businesses, participate in patriotic ceremonies, and reflect on the significance of the flag in American history and culture. It’s also a time to remember the sacrifices made by those who have served and continue to serve in defense of the nation. Flag Day serves as a reminder of the values that bind Americans together as one nation, under the banner of the stars and stripes.
There are no rigorous standard heights for flagpoles displaying the American flag in educational settlements but there are general guidelines and recommendations.
Commercial Use: In commercial settings, flagpoles can vary widely depending on the size of the building and the surrounding landscape. They can range from 20 feet for smaller businesses to over 100 feet for large corporate buildings.
Government Buildings: Flagpoles at government buildings or public spaces often range from 30 to 60 feet or more, depending on the size and prominence of the building.
Proportions: A general guideline for the American flag is that the length of the flag should be about one-quarter to one-third the height of the flagpole.
Regulations: Some local ordinances or homeowner associations may have specific guidelines regarding flagpole height, so it’s a good idea to check local regulations before installing one.
Ultimately, the height of a flagpole for the American flag depends on the context and purpose of display, as well as practical considerations such as the size of the flag itself and local regulations.
NB: “The flag stands for a set of principles, not the lack of adherence to them.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough. We are not sure about this source; nor the author. We have adapted the sentiment for our home page excerpt.
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; he enlargeth the nations, and straighteneith them again.
§
“Daphnis et Chloé” 1870 Auguste Cot
Our use of the term “Educational Settlements” captures the self-contained energy of these places — kindergartens, classrooms, quads, dining halls, dorms, and nearby squares buzzing with student life amid broader higher-ed shifts like the “demographic cliff” (declining traditional enrollments), AI integration, skills-focused curricula, and financial pressures. (Related: Agora)
“…O chestnut tree;, great rooted blossomer, Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bold? O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance?”
We sweep through the world’s three major time zones; updating our understanding of the literature at the technical foundation of education community safety and sustainability in those time zones 24 times per day. We generally eschew “over-coding” web pages to sustain speed, revision cadence and richness of content as peak priority. We do not provide a search facility because of copyrights of publishers and time sensitivity of almost everything we do.
Our daily colloquia are typically doing sessions; with non-USA titles receiving priority until 16:00 UTC and all other titles thereafter. We assume policy objectives are established (Safer-Simpler-Lower-Cost, Longer-Lasting). Because we necessarily get into the weeds, and because much of the content is time-sensitive and copyright protected, we usually schedule a separate time slot to hammer on technical specifics so that our response to consultations are meaningful and contribute to the goals of the standards developing organization and to the goals of stewards of education community real assets — typically the largest real asset owned by any US state and about 50 percent of its annual budget.
1. Leviathan. We track noteworthy legislative proposals in the United States 118th Congress. Not many deal specifically with education community real assets since the relevant legislation is already under administrative control of various Executive Branch Departments such as the Department of Education.
We do not advocate in legislative activity at any level. We respond to public consultations but there it ends.
We track federal legislative action because it provides a stroboscopic view of the moment — the “national conversation”– in communities that are simultaneously a business and a culture. Even though more than 90 percent of such proposals are at the mercy of the party leadership the process does enlighten the strengths and weakness of a governance system run entirely through the counties on the periphery of Washington D.C. It is impossible to solve technical problems in facilities without sensitivity to the zietgeist that has accelerated in education communities everywhere.
Michigan Great Lake Quilt
Michigan can 100% water and feed itself. Agriculture is its second-largest industry.
“Fireworks over Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome” | Jacob Philipp Hackert (1775)
At least twice a year, and during performances with flame effects, public safety departments in colleges and universities have an elevated concern about campus citizen safety, and the safety of the host community, when fireworks are used for celebration. We find very rigorous prohibitions against the use of fireworks, weapons and explosives on campus. Education and enforcement usually falls on facility and operation campus safety units.
That much said, we follow development, but do not advocate in NFPA 1123 Code for Fireworks Display, because it lies among a grouping of titles that set the standard of care for many college and university public safety departments that sometimes need to craft prohibitions with consideration for the business purposes of entertainment and celebration in education facilities. NFPA 1123 is not a long document — only 22 pages of core text — but it contains a few basic considerations for display site selection, clearances and permitting that campus public safety departments will coordinate with the host community. It references NFPA 1126, Standard for the Use of Pyrotechnics Before a Proximate Audience and NFPA 160 Standard for the Use of Flame Effects Before an Audience.
Something to keep an eye on. The home page for this code is linked below:
Fireworks are synonymous with celebration in the twenty-first century. But pyrotechnics—in the form of rockets, crackers, wheels, and bombs—have exploded in sparks and noise to delight audiences in Europe ever since the Renaissance. Here, Simon Werrett shows that, far from being only a means of entertainment, fireworks helped foster advances in natural philosophy, chemistry, mathematics, and many other branches of the sciences.
Fireworks brings to vibrant life the many artful practices of pyrotechnicians, as well as the elegant compositions of the architects, poets, painters, and musicians they inspired. At the same time, it uncovers the dynamic relationships that developed between the many artists and scientists who produced pyrotechnics. In so doing, the book demonstrates the critical role that pyrotechnics played in the development of physics, astronomy, chemistry and physiology, meteorology, and electrical science. Richly illustrated and drawing on a wide range of new sources, Fireworks takes readers back to a world where pyrotechnics were both divine and magical and reveals for the first time their vital contribution to the modernization of European ideas.
We examine the proposals for the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code; including our own. The 2026 National Electrical Code where sit on CMP-15 overseeing health care facility electrical issues should be released any day now. We have one proposal on the agenda of the International Code Council’s Group B Committee Action Hearings in Cleveland in October. Balloting on the next IEEE Gold Book on reliability should begin.
FERC Open Meetings | (Note that these ~60 minute sessions meet Sunshine Act requirements. Our interest lies one or two levels deeper into the technicals underlying the administrivia)
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei City, Taiwan
First Draft Proposals contain most of our proposals — and most new (original) content. We will keep the transcripts linked below but will migrate them to a new page starting 2025:
N.B. We are in the process of migrating electric power system research to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers bibliographic format.
Recap of the May meetings of the Industrial & Commercial Power Systems Conference in Las Vegas. The conference ended the day before the beginning of the 3-day Memorial Day weekend in the United States so we’re pressed for time; given all that happened.
We can use our last meeting’s agenda to refresh the status of the issues.
We typically break down our discussion into the topics listed below:
Codes & Standards:
While IAS/I&CPS has directed votes on the NEC; Mike is the only I&CPS member who is actually submitting proposals and responses to codes and standards developers to the more dominant SDO’s — International Code Council, ASHRAE International, UL, ASTM International, IEC & ISO. Mike maintains his offer to train the next generation of “code writers and vote getters”
Performance-based building premises feeder design has been proposed for the better part of ten NEC revision cycles. The objective of these proposals is to reduce material, labor and energy waste owed to the branch and feeder sizing rules that are prescriptive in Articles 210-235. Our work in service and lighting branch circuit design has been largely successful. A great deal of building interior power chain involves feeders — the network upstream from branch circuit panels but down stream from building service panel.
Our history of advocating for developing this approach, inspired by the NFPA 101 Guide to Alternative Approaches to Life Safety, and recounted in recent proposals for installing performance-based electrical feeder design into the International Building Code, appears in the link below:
Access to this draft paper for presentation at any conference that will receive it — NFPA, ICC or IEEE (or even ASHRAE) will be available for review at the link below:
NFPA 110 Definitions of Public Utility v. Merchant Utility
NFPA 72 “Definition of Dormitory Suite” and related proposals
Buildings:
Renovation economics, Smart contracts in electrical construction. UMich leadership in aluminum wiring statements in the NEC should be used to reduce wiring costs.
This paper details primary considerations in estimating the life cycle of a campus medium voltage distribution grid. Some colleges and universities are selling their entire power grid to private companies. Mike has been following these transactions but cannot do it alone.
Variable Architecture Multi-Island Microgrids
District energy:
Generator stator winding failures and implications upon insurance premiums. David Shipp and Sergio Panetta. Mike suggests more coverage of retro-fit and lapsed life cycle technicals for insurance companies setting premiums.
Reliability:
Bob Arno’s leadership in updating the Gold Book.
Mike will expand the sample set in Table 10-35, page 293 from the <75 data points in the 1975 survey to >1000 data points. Bob will set up meeting with Peyton at US Army Corps of Engineers.
Reliability of merchant utility distribution systems remains pretty much a local matter. The 2023 Edition of the NESC shows modest improvement in the vocabulary of reliability concepts. For the 2028 Edition Mike submitted several proposals to at least reference IEEE titles in the distribution reliability domain. It seems odd (at least to Mike) that the NESC committees do not even reference IEEE technical literature such as Bob’s Gold Book which has been active for decades. Mike will continue to propose changes in other standards catalogs — such as ASTM, ASHRAE and ICC — which may be more responsive to best practice assertions. Ultimately, improvements will require state public utility commission regulations — and we support increases in tariffs so that utilities can afford these improvements.
Mike needs help from IEEE Piscataway on standard WordPress theme limitations for the data collection platform.
Mike will update the campus power outage database.
Healthcare:
Giuseppe Parise’s recent work in Italian power grid to its hospitals, given its elevated earthquake risk. Mike’s review of Giuseppe’s paper:
Mike and David Shipp will prepare a position paper for the Harvard Healthcare Management Journal on reliability advantages of impedance grounding for the larger systems.
The Internet of Bodies
Forensics:
Giuseppe’s session was noteworthy for illuminating the similarity and differences between the Italian and US legal system in handling electrotechnology issues.
Mike will restock the committee’s library of lawsuits transactions.
Ports:
Giuseppe updates on the energy and security issues of international ports. Mike limits his time in this committee even though the State of Michigan has the most fresh water international ports in the world.
A PROPOSED GUIDE FOR THE ENERGY PLAN AND ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF A PORT
Other:
Proposals to the 2028 National Electrical Safety Code: Accepted Best Practice, exterior switchgear guarding, scope expansion into ICC and ASHRAE catalog,
Apparently both the Dot Standards and the Color Books will continue parallel development. Only the Gold Book is being updated; led by Bob Arno. Mike admitted confusion but reminded everyone that any references to IEEE best practice literature in the NFPA catalog, was installed Mike himself (who would like some backup help)
Mike assured Christel Hunter (General Cable) that his proposals for reducing the 180 VA per-outlet requirements, and the performance-base design allowance for building interior feeders do not violate the results of the Neher-McGrath calculation used for conductor sizing. All insulation and conducting material thermal limits are unaffected.
Other informal discussions centered on the rising cost of copper wiring and the implications for the global electrotechnical transformation involving the build out of quantum computing and autonomous vehicles. Few expressed optimism that government ambitions for the same could be met in any practical way.
Are students avoiding use of Chat GPT for energy conservation reasons? Mike will be breaking out this topic for a dedicated standards inquiry session:
Observational comedy is a form of humor based on commonplace aspects of everyday life, especially small details and shared experiences. In a typical observational routine, the comedian highlights something familiar to the audience that is rarely discussed explicitly, often framed to emphasize recognition or relatability.
Good luck to our Eagles at the NCAA Championships! 👟@BCXC_TF‘s Mateo Bianchi ’26 is BC’s first steeplechaser in nearly 60 years and runs today, while Imogen Gardiner ’26 (1500m) and Sydney Segalla ’26 (400m) will race on Thursday. 🦅 pic.twitter.com/CKIScaQnBY
Open agenda; Not Too Organized. Whatever anyone wants to talk about. We do this once every month. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
A massive number of colleges and universities have shut down within the last couple of years, or will shut down in the next few.
Many of these colleges have cited financial hardship or enrollment decline as reasons for closure. But what’s really going on? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/MoF1Iiejzd
We had so much fun celebrating the magic of this Swedish tradition by making flower wreaths, dancing around the maypole, enjoying a smorgasbord buffet and music with our American friends, families and allies here in DC. pic.twitter.com/NC9tEKa4RS
— Embassy of Sweden USA (@SwedeninUSA) June 21, 2024
In honor of Charles-Augustin de Coulomb’s birthday, we would like you to know that 1 coulomb is equal to the charge of 6.24 quintillion (billion billion) electrons! pic.twitter.com/VnrLu0Lb0P
— National Institute of Standards and Technology (@NIST) June 14, 2024
In honor of Charles-Augustin de Coulomb’s birthday, we would like you to know that 1 coulomb is equal to the charge of 6.24 quintillion (billion billion) electrons! pic.twitter.com/VnrLu0Lb0P
— National Institute of Standards and Technology (@NIST) June 14, 2024
📢📢📢
MSU Observatory will be open for public observing twice a month between April and September. Stay tuned for our public events schedule.. 🔭🌕🪐💫@MSUNatSci@michiganstateu
Video credit: EA Photography
Audio credit: Epicomposer pic.twitter.com/hGF9oEidqd
The IEEE P3119 draft standard is designed to help strengthen AI procurement approaches, using due diligence to ensure that agencies are critically evaluating the AI services and tools they acquire.https://t.co/ujVJxZqjEm@InstituteIEEE
— IEEE Standards Association | IEEE SA (@IEEESA) May 19, 2024
— Standards Michigan (@StandardsMich) May 25, 2024
The word #standard is commonly used in daily language, so much so that people do not always reflect on its definition. Learn how ASTM International’s Regulations Governing ASTM Technical Committees (aka “Green Book”) defines them. #standards See https://t.co/oSBmwh1lbXpic.twitter.com/ynk87XDr7D
— Standards Michigan (@StandardsMich) May 18, 2024
🏆 We applaud the brilliant minds shortlisted for the 2024 IEEE PES Power Engineering Education Committee (PEEC) Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award!
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
