On Friday, ASU celebrated the opening of ISTB12, a 173,000-sq-ft hub for the future of manufacturing. Located in the Polytechnic Innovation Zone, it brings together students, faculty & industry to advance robotics, automation and semiconductor innovation: https://t.co/kgvAQjY5PMpic.twitter.com/ZRydroA07I
Joseph Stalin is often credited with observing that “those who cast the votes decide nothing; those who count the votes decide everything.” The remark underscores that the integrity of tabulation, not merely turnout, determines outcomes.
In Maricopa County this insight resonates because the jurisdiction’s sheer scale (roughly 60% of Arizona’s voters), heavy reliance on mail ballots, signature verification, and multi-day counting routinely produce delayed results in razor-close races. After 2020, when Biden’s narrow statewide margin hinged on the county, intense scrutiny fell on the counting process itself—printer malfunctions, curing procedures, equipment audits, and the controversial Cyber Ninjas review.
Compounding this is the concentration of a large, predominantly Democratic-leaning student population at Arizona State University in Tempe. This sizable demographic bloc can shift close countywide margins, making the precise counting and verification of their (often mail or early) ballots a focal point of contention and further illustrating why control of the tabulation process becomes decisive in high-stakes contests.
US Department of Agriculture | § 58.2825 United States Standard for ice cream.
Southern ice cream often differs from ice cream in other regions of the U.S. in several ways, reflecting regional tastes, ingredients, and traditions:
Flavors and Ingredients:
Pecans and Pralines: Southern ice cream frequently incorporates pecans and pralines, which are popular in the region.
Peaches: Georgia is known for its peaches, so peach-flavored ice cream is a Southern staple.
Sweet Tea and Bourbon: These flavors are inspired by Southern beverages and can be found in ice creams.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk ice cream has a tangy flavor and is a nod to traditional Southern cooking.
Style and Texture:
Custard Base: Southern ice cream often uses a custard base, which includes egg yolks, giving it a richer and creamier texture compared to the typical Philadelphia-style ice cream that uses a simpler cream and sugar base.
Churned at Home: Traditional Southern ice cream is often made using hand-cranked ice cream makers, producing a different texture and incorporating more air, which can make it lighter and fluffier.
Historical Influence:
Cultural Heritage: The South’s diverse cultural heritage influences its ice cream, with recipes passed down through generations and reflecting African American, Native American, and European influences.
Popular Brands and Shops:
Regional Brands: Brands like Blue Bell, which originated in Texas, are particularly popular in the South and known for their classic Southern flavors.
Local Shops: Small, local ice cream parlors in the South often offer unique, homemade flavors that highlight regional ingredients and traditions.
These differences highlight the South’s rich culinary traditions and how they extend even to sweet treats like ice cream.
The Board of Regents acquisition of the 140-acre Geddes Road landmass of the former Concordia University later this month will give it shoreline on a major Southeastern Michigan river system and, 104 miles downstream the Huron River Water Trail, direct access to Lake Erie.
“Temple, Fountain and Cave in Sezincote Park” | Thomas Daniell (1819) | Yale Center for British Art
From time to time we break from our interest in lowering the cost of our “cities-within-cities” to enjoy the work of our colleagues responsible for seasonal ambience and public art. We have a dedicated post that celebrates the accomplishments of our gardeners and horticultural staff. Today we dedicate a post to campus fountains–a focal point for gathering and a place for personal reflection for which there is no price.
Alas, we find a quickening of standards developing organizations growing their footprint in the spaces around buildings now. They used to confine the scopes of their standardization enterprises to the building envelope. That day will soon be behind us as an energized cadre of water rights social justice workers, public safety, sustainability and energy conservation professionals descend upon campus fountains with prescriptive requirements for evaporation rates, bromine concentrations, training, certification and inspections. In other words regulators and conformity functionaries will outnumber benefactors and fountain designers 1 million to 1.
We will deal with all that when the day comes. For the moment, let’s just enjoy them.
We are happy to walk you through the relevant structural, water safety, plumbing and electrical issues any day at 11 AM EST during our daily standing online teleconferences. Click on any image for author attribution, photo credit or other information.
Purdue University
The Great Court at Trinity College, Cambridge
Regent University
University of Washington
Hauptgebäude der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Bayern, Deutschland
College of the Desert / Palm Desert, California
California Institute of Technology
Berry College
Utah Valley University
Universitat d’Alacant / Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Spain
Today we walk through literature governing the safety and sustainability of the open space features of education community estates. Unlike the titles for the building envelope, which are known to most design professionals and contractors, the standards for grounds and landscaping are widely scattered; many of them occupational safety related; created, administered and enforced by units of government.
During the fair seasons we examine the moment in landscape, garden, tree and water literature. We also track titles about the reclamation of building roofs for permeable surfaces and gardens.
During the winter months in the northern hemisphere we include snow and ice management; while covering summer month technologies for southern hemisphere (and vice-versa). Snowfalls in the southern hemisphere are mainly contained to the highlands and mountain ranges, which are almost exclusively in Victoria and Southern New South Wales, as well as the mountains in Tasmania. Winter does not pose as much of a cost burden to education facilities in the southern hemisphere as it does in the northern hemisphere.
Landscape standards refer to guidelines or regulations that specify the requirements for the design, installation, and maintenance of outdoor spaces such as parks, gardens, streetscapes, and public spaces. Landscape standards typically cover various aspects of landscape design, including vegetation selection, planting arrangements, irrigation systems, hardscape materials, and lighting.
These standards may be set by government agencies at the federal, state, or local level, or by professional organizations such as the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Landscape standards aim to ensure that outdoor spaces are safe, functional, and aesthetically pleasing while also promoting sustainability and environmental protection.
Landscape standards may also address issues such as accessibility for people with disabilities, water conservation, stormwater management, and erosion control. They may vary depending on the specific location, climate, and intended use of the outdoor space. Compliance with landscape standards may be required for approval of development projects, public funding, or other permits.
Father Marquette Catholic Academy | Marquette County Michigan
We track the standards catalog of two ANSI-accredited standards developers:
As a cross-cutting subject involving soil and water and sun many other standards developers, and all levels of government, produce best practice literature for today’s topic. We’ll have a look at what’s moving among those.
To join us use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Harvard University Art Museum | In the Sierras, Lake Tahoe | Albert Bierstadt
The American Water Works Association is one of the first names in accredited standards developers that administer leading practice discovery in backflow prevention consensus documents; usually referenced in local and state building codes; and also in education facility design guidelines and construction specifications.
The original University of Michigan standards enterprise gave highest priority to backflow standards because of their central importance of backflow management to education communities; especially large research universities nested within a municipal water system. Backflow prevention; an unseen technology that assures a safe drinking water supply by keeping water running in one direction by maintaining pressure differences. Analogous to the way we want electrical current to run in one direction, failure of backflow prevention technology poses a near-instantaneous health risk for the contamination of potable water supplies with foul water. In the most obvious case, a toilet flush cistern and its water supply must be isolated from the toilet bowl. In a less obvious case, but at greater scale, a damaged backflow prevention technology at a university research building can contaminate an host-community potable water supply.
There are other ANSI accredited standards developers in the backflow prevention technology space — the International Code Council, the IAPMO Group and ASSE International — for example.
Backflow Preventer
At the moment no AWWA redlines relevant to our objective are open for consultation. Several relatively stabilized product standards are marked up but none dealing specifically with interoperability issues. When they are uploaded you may access them at the link below:
AWWA is the first name in US-based water standards so we maintain the AWWA catalog on our Plumbing & Water colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [11-57]
Category: Water Safety, Plumbing, Mechanical
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Steve Snyder, Larry Spielvogel
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
…”Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Outdoor play facilities for school children are governed by several key codes and standards to ensure safety and accessibility. The European Standard EN 1176 outlines safety requirements for playground equipment, covering design, installation, and maintenance to minimize risks like entrapment and falls.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 mandates risk assessments and safe environments, while the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 (revised 1984) ensures playgrounds are reasonably safe for users.
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 holds manufacturers liable for defective equipment. The Children Act 1989 requires facilities to be suitable and safe. Ofsted emphasizes stimulating, inclusive, and varied play environments that promote physical and mental health, encouraging year-round outdoor learning. Compliance with these standards, alongside regular inspections (e.g., TÜV certification), ensures safe, durable, and engaging playgrounds that foster children’s development while minimizing injury risks.
Today at the usual hour we update our understanding of the technical literature that supports making these facilities safe, sustainable and enjoyable. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
While the students have been enjoying the playground since school began, it was a celebration getting to recognize everyone who made it happen. Thank you to Play! at Pierce, our donors, Rep. Stava-Murray, and the entire community for all of their efforts! #WEarePD58#DG58Pridepic.twitter.com/eNZdPmjaI2
In the soft light of a Notting Hill afternoon in 1958, the playground of a local day nursery becomes something closer to a sanctuary. Rows of small camp beds and folded rugs are neatly arranged beneath the open sky, each one cradling a sleeping child. The air carries the scent of… pic.twitter.com/L6i0HmcMmI
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
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