Author Archives: mike@standardsmichigan.com

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Morning Porridge

BSI GroupThe Beans Group

Porridge is a dish made by boiling grains, legumes, or starchy plants like oats, rice, cornmeal, or barley in water or milk until it reaches a soft, thick, and creamy consistency. It’s often eaten as a breakfast food and can be sweetened with sugar, honey, or fruit, or flavored with spices and other ingredients.

Common examples include oatmeal, rice porridge (like congee), and millet porridge. The specific ingredients and preparation vary widely across cultures and regions.

Not to be confused with grits; a specific type of porridge made from corn, with a distinct texture and cultural role, while porridge is a broader category encompassing many grains and preparations.

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education: How higher education is adopting new strategies in loyalty management

Peppermint Coffee

“It’s Time To Tell You EVERYTHING…” | Victor Davis Hanson

 

“Established in 1956, National University of Natural Medicine is the oldest accredited naturopathic medical university in North America and a leader in natural medicine education and evidence-based research. As one of the most respected universities of natural medicine in the world, our participation in international medical education and research is routinely solicited. We believe in the healing power of nature, and that food is medicine.”

Peppermint, scientifically known as Mentha × piperita, is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). It belongs to the Lamiaceae family, which also includes other aromatic herbs like basil, rosemary, and lavender. Here are some key scientific points about peppermint:

Botanical Classification: Lamiaceae

Characteristics: Peppermint is a herbaceous perennial plant known for its distinctive minty aroma and flavor. It has square-shaped stems, serrated leaves, and produces small purple or white flowers in spikes.

Chemical Composition: The characteristic flavor and scent of peppermint are attributed to its essential oil, which contains menthol as a major component. Other compounds found in peppermint oil include menthone, menthyl acetate, and various terpenoids.

Cultivation: Peppermint is a hardy plant and is known to grow well in a variety of climates. It is often cultivated for commercial purposes, both for its culinary use and the extraction of essential oils.

Peppermint has been adapted for pharmaceutical and cosmetic purposes. Its essential oil is extracted for use in aromatherapy, and peppermint tea is a common herbal infusion enjoyed for both its taste and potential health benefits.

Bastyr University: Herbal Science Program

University of California Berkely Jepson Herbaria

Maryland University Integrative Health: Herbal Medicine


Coffee & Tea Standards

“The Coffee House Orator” 1880 | Edgar Bundy

Why Can No One Think Rationally Anymore? – George Mack

 

Cornbread & Coffee

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence

of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.”

“The Professor at the Breakfast-Table” (Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., 1858)

 

 

Roger Scruton: The True, the Good and the Beautiful

Student Cornbread Recipe Message Board

UNL Extension Recipe Central

Student Affairs: Spots to Grab a Coffee on Campus

Standards Nebraska

United States Department of Agriculture: Is Corn a Grain or a Vegetable?

 

 


Coffee

Kitchens 100

The “Sugaring” Season

“The Full Moon Coffee Shop”

 

“In the quiet moments between sips of coffee, one can hear the whispers of the stars” — Mai Mochizuki (‘The Full Moon Coffee Shop’, 2024)

The student version of an English Breakfast

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Coffee Society

Annual report and financial statements 31 July 2024 | “Campus” Masterplan

Durham (Dunholm O.E.) as a Northumbrian learning settlement originates with its Cathedral; founded in 995 AD as part of a Benedictine monastery.  Monks maintained libraries and created an intellectual hub for the English speaking peoples.  Fast forward a millennium and we find “DU Coffee Society” which describes itself as a welcoming space for students to learn about coffee making, latte art and each other.

FYI:

LSE: “The Benefits and Costs of International Higher Education Students to the UK Economy

PwC: UK Higher Education Financial Sustainability Report

 

Ædificare & Utilization

It has been 20 years since we began following educational facilities construction activity.  Starting this month we will examine federal government data together with the best available data about space utilization to enlighten our response to the perfectly reasonable question: “Are we over-building or under-building or building ineffectively”.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

United States: Schools of Architecture

The Society for College and University Planning (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

National Center for Education Statistics

The Financial Impact of Architectural Design: Balancing Aesthetics and Budget in Modern Construction

 

Homeschooling

2022 International Existing Building Code 

  • University College London

As reported by the US Department of Commerce Census Bureau the value of construction put in place by May 2025 by the US education industry proceeded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $135.970 billionThis number does not include renovation for projects under 50,000 square feet and new construction in university-affiliated health care delivery enterprises.   Reports are released two months after calendar month.  The complete report is available at the link below:

MONTHLY CONSTRUCTION SPENDING August 2025 (released two months after calendar month)

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LAST MONTH HAS INTERRUPTED THE RELEASE CADENCE THIS MONTH

 


 


This spend makes the US education facilities industry (which includes colleges, universities, technical/vocational and K-12 schools, most university-affiliated medical research and healthcare delivery enterprises, etc.) the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States after commercial property; and fairly close.  For perspective consider total public + private construction ranked according to the tabulation most recently released:

$137.604 billion| Education Facilities

$155.728 billion | Power

$69.625 billion | Healthcare

Keep in mind that inflation figures into the elevated dollar figures.  Overall — including construction, energy, custodial services, furnishings, security. etc., — the non-instructional spend plus the construction spend of the US education facilities is running at a rate of about $300 – $500 billion per year.

LIVE: A selection of construction cameras at  US schools, colleges and universities

Architectural Billings

We typically pick through the new data set; looking for clues relevant to real asset spend decisions.  Finally, we encourage the education facilities industry to contribute to the accuracy of these monthly reports by responding the US Census Bureau’s data gathering contractors.

Reconstruction of Ancient Agora

 

As surely as people are born, grow wealthy and die with extra cash,

there will be a home for that cash to sustain their memory and to steer

the cultural heritage of the next generation in beautiful settings.

More

National Center for Educational Statistics

AIA: Billings Index shows but remains strong May 2022

National Center for Education Statistics

Sightlines: Capital Investment College Facilities

OxBlue: Time-Lapse Construction Cameras for Education

Architectural Billing Index

IBISWorld Education Sector

US Census Bureau Form F-33 Survey of School System Finances

American School & University

Global Consistency in Presenting Construction & Life Cycle Costs

Carnegie Classifications

Memorial Church Sunday Service

Hillsdale College | The Theological–Political Problem and the American Founding | Glenn Ellmers

From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790

In Federalist No. 2, John Jay [1764 Graduate of King’s College; now Columbia University] argues that a strong union under the Constitution will promote peace and prosperity, which are conducive to the spread of religion and morality:

“Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people—a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs… These considerations, and many others that might be mentioned, prove, and experience confirms it, that artificial distinctions and separations of [America’s] land are essentially unnatural; and that they may be eradicated and extirpated by the united and advisable efforts of individuals and communities…”

The Federalist Papers discuss themes of morality, social order, and the importance of a cohesive society, they do not explicitly emphasize the importance of Christian faith to the American constitutional republic.  The authors generally focused on principles of governance, political theory, and the structure of the proposed Constitution.

 

“The experience of the sacred is a universal phenomenon,

found in all human societies, however primitive or complex.”

1957 Mircea Eliade (‘The Sacred and the Profane’)

Other Campus Worship Livestreams


Harvard’s Memorial Chapel, also known as Memorial Church, was designed by the architectural firm Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch, and Abbott. The church was dedicated on Armistice Day, November 11, 1932, as a memorial to Harvard alumni who died in World War I.


Sunday Service Announcements and Music Notes

Standards Massachusetts

Readings / The Education of Henry Adams

Readings / The Administrative State


John Harvard, the namesake of Harvard University, was a 17th-century English minister lived on campus from 1607 – 1638 and conformed to Puritan ideal of  dedicating Sundays to worship, prayer, and rest.

Radio Transmission Power & Frequency Allocation

Why are there at least 10 publicly funded radio stations receivable in a 75 mile radius (back and forth, up and down) the I-94/I-75 corridor of Michigan — all of them domiciled in public universities?  These stations also receive revenue from other non-profit organizations, unending funding drives and private advertising from multinational financing organizations such as Schwab, Fidelity and other for-profit corporations.   Most of them purchase their “content” from the same source; reflecting the same large government bias seen across the entire nation; concentrated in college towns with spotty intellectual history.

Within an approximate 50 mile radius of the University of Michigan, five national public radio stations are receivable:

WUOM University of Michigan Ann Arbor

WEMU Eastern Michigan University

WDET Wayne State University

WKAR Michigan State University

WGTE University of Toledo

Move 25 miles to the northwest and two more are receivable:

WVGR Michigan Public Radio

WLNZ Landing Community College

Move 25 miles northeast and three more are receivable

WFUM University of Michigan Flint

WMUK Western Michigan University

WAUS Andrews University

FCC ONLINE TABLE OF FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS: 47 C.F.R. § 2.106
(Revised July 1, 2022)

Standards for radio broadcast coverage can vary depending on factors like location, broadcasting technology, and regulatory requirements. Here’s a general list covering various aspects:

  1. Technical Standards:
    • Transmission Power and Frequency Allocation: Standards set by regulatory bodies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States or Ofcom in the UK regulate the power levels and frequencies allocated to radio stations to prevent interference.
    • Audio Quality: Standards for audio encoding and decoding, such as those defined by organizations like the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) or the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standards.
    • Antenna Design and Installation: Standards for antenna design, placement, and maintenance to ensure efficient transmission and coverage.
  2. Content Standards:
    • Language and Content Regulations: Regulations on language, decency, and content suitability enforced by regulatory bodies to ensure broadcasts adhere to community standards and do not contain offensive or harmful material.
    • Advertising Standards: Guidelines on the content and placement of advertisements to prevent deceptive practices and ensure fairness and transparency.
    • Copyright and Licensing: Regulations governing the use of copyrighted material and licensing agreements for broadcasting music, interviews, and other content.
  3. Emergency Broadcast Standards:
    • Emergency Alert Systems (EAS): Standards for implementing emergency alert systems to disseminate important information to the public during emergencies or disasters.
    • Public Safety Communications: Standards for communication protocols and procedures to coordinate with emergency services and agencies during crises.
  4. Accessibility Standards:
    • Closed Captioning: Standards for providing closed captioning for the hearing impaired, ensuring accessibility to radio broadcasts.
    • Descriptive Video Service (DVS): Standards for providing audio descriptions of visual content for the visually impaired.
  5. Ethical Standards:
    • Journalistic Integrity: Guidelines for ethical reporting and journalism standards, including accuracy, fairness, and impartiality.
    • Disclosure of Sponsored Content: Standards for disclosing sponsored or paid content to maintain transparency and trust with the audience.
    • Conflict of Interest Policies: Standards for identifying and managing conflicts of interest in news reporting and programming.
  6. Health and Safety Standards:
    • Electromagnetic Radiation Exposure Limits: Standards set by health organizations and regulatory bodies to limit human exposure to electromagnetic radiation emitted by radio transmitters.
    • Workplace Safety: Standards for ensuring the safety of radio station personnel and compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.

These standards are often enforced by governmental regulatory agencies, industry organizations, and professional associations to ensure the quality, integrity, and safety of radio broadcast coverage.


National Public Radio is the soundtrack of American academia and American academia has always been partial to large government:

“It was always the woman, and above all the young ones who where the most bigoted adherents to the party” — (George Orwell, ‘1984’)

Radio 300

Radio 400

Integrated Planning Glossary

 

Attendees of the SCUP 2025 North Atlantic Symposium sit on the Commons in Columbia Business School and smile.

The Society of College and University Planning was founded in 1965 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor during an informal gathering of campus planners frustrated with the lack of professional exchange in their emerging field. Rapid postwar enrollment growth and massive campus expansion projects had created urgent needs for long-range physical planning, yet few institutions had dedicated planners or shared knowledge.
A small group, led by University of Michigan planners George J. Bruha and Frederick W Mayer met in Ann Arbor to discuss common challenges facing other State of Michigan settlements; joined by Stanford, Ohio State and the University of Illinois. They decided to create a formal organization to foster collaboration, research, and professional development. In 1966, with Michigan’s support, SCUP was officially established as a nonprofit with its first office on the Ann Arbor campus. Its founding principle—integrated planning linking academics, finances, and facilities—remains central today.

Integrated Planning Glossary


Early operations benefited from administrative support (aegis) provided by the University of Michigan, including office space and resources in Ann Arbor. This arrangement persisted until a financial crisis in the late 1970s (1976–1980), during which SCUP relocated to New York.

The decoupling—marking full operational and administrative independence from the University of Michigan—occurred in 1980, when SCUP returned to Ann Arbor as a self-sustaining nonprofit headquartered at a separate location –1330 Eisenhower Place — less than a mile walk from Standards Michigan‘s front door at 455 East Eisenhower.

* Of the 220 ANSI Accredited Standards Developers, the State of Michigan ranks 3rd in the ranking of U.S. states with the most ANSI-accredited standards developers (ASDs) headquartered there; behind the Regulatory Hegemons of California and ChicagoLand and excluding the expected cluster foxtrot of non-profits domiciled in the Washington-New York Deep State Megalopolis.  Much of Michigan’s presence in the private consensus standards space originates from its industrial ascendency through most of the 1900’s.

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