Alumni Memorial Hall 1908

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Alumni Memorial Hall 1908

May 26, 2026
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Michigan Central

Vogue: Beaux Arts Architecture | Donaldson and Meier Architects

Alumni Memorial Hall was built as a war memorial and multi-purpose alumni building — not originally as an art museum; though it became — and still is — a gathering point for alumni who donated their collections to the University.  Its inspiration originated in 1864 shortly after the Civil War, to honor University of Michigan students, faculty, and alumni who died in that conflict and all conflicts thereafter.


 

Cultural Resource Properties

Museum Collections Security

Sacred Spaces

NFPA 70 Article 90

May 25, 2026
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Today we review a draft of an article that covers, in our view, an obvious oversight in the 2026 National Electrical Code.  It is an expansion of a proposal already submitted to the National Electrical Code Technical Correlating Committee and will support challenges to its adoption into the 2029 NEC revision.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.


Restore the NESC to the Front End of the NEC

Michael A. Anthony | Glenn T. Keates 

Abstract. It may seem like a small thing — to restore the cross-reference to the IEEE National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) at the front end of the NFPA National Electrical Code (NEC) where it used to be — but it is not. This paper explains why restoration of the NEC’s peer document is necessary in the 2029 Edition of the NEC, now under development.

The reasons are both technical and cultural, touching on a minefield of sensitivities about safety, sustainability, and economic development associated with the data center (artificial intelligence) zeitgeist. 

Customer owned interactive sources are not new.  Customer-owned load-side electric services at transmission voltages for private developers and university-adjacent hyperscale installations present consideration are new.[x] 

The NESC, in contrast, maintains a clear “handshake” reference to the NEC in its Scope statement (Section 011). This paper argues for the restoration of a prominent NESC cross-reference in NEC Article 90.2(A)(2) for the 2029 edition. The proposal (Public Input No. 3687-NFPA 70-2026) has already been submitted to NFPA Technical Committee CMP-1.

2029 National Electrical Code

NESC 2028 Comments

Mike Anthony and University of Michigan Electrical Engineer Colleagues

Glenn Keates with University of Michigan IEEE Students during March 2026 Scoreboard Tour

Not Again | Maumee City Schools

May 24, 2026
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We observe Europe unraveling under a perfect storm of mass Third-World migration, catastrophic demographics, and chronic economic stagnation, echoing the continent’s historical cycles of decline before major ruptures.Since 2015, over 10 million predominantly low-skilled migrants (mostly young Muslim males from MENA and sub-Saharan Africa) have entered the EU, driven by Merkel’s open-door policy and ongoing Mediterranean routes. Native birth rates hover at 1.3–1.6 children per woman (replacement = 2.1), while the median age in Germany, Italy, and Spain now exceeds 45–48 and is heading toward 55 by 2050.
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By 2040, Germany will have more people over 70 than under 20. Pension and healthcare systems built for a 1960s worker-to-retiree ratio of 6:1 now face 2:1 and are sliding toward 1:1, requiring either crushing tax hikes or benefit cuts neither voters nor politicians will accept.Economic growth has averaged <1% annually for a decade in the eurozone core. Deindustrialization (energy prices tripled after Russia sanctions and Nord Stream loss), regulatory strangulation, and the need to subsidize both a swelling non-working migrant underclass and a ballooning elderly native population have choked investment. 

 

“Grief” Anna | Anna Ancher (1859 – 1935)

 

Welfare states that once absorbed modest immigration now hemorrhage funds while social cohesion collapses amid rising crime, no-go zones, and parallel societies.Europe is aging out, filling the gap with incompatible human capital, and running out of money to paper over the contradictions.  History says this combination ends in tears, usually violent ones.

 

Flying Tigers

May 24, 2026
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The Flying Tigers, officially the First American Volunteer Group (AVG), were American pilots led by Claire Lee Chennault, formed in 1941 to aid China against Japanese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Equipped with Curtiss P-40 Warhawks, they were tasked with defending Chinese skies and supply lines. However, the Flying Tigers did not directly stop the Rape of Nanking, which occurred from December 1937 to January 1938, as they were not yet formed.

By the time they saw combat on December 20, 1941, after Pearl Harbor, Nanjing had already fallen. Their role was significant later, defending key areas like Kunming and the Burma Road, disrupting Japanese air operations, and boosting Chinese morale. With only 62 combat-ready pilots, they destroyed 296 Japanese aircraft, but their impact came post-Nanjing, aiding China’s broader resistance against Japanese aggression.

SAVE OUR SOULS: United States Library of Congress: Wartime Messages from China to the American People (1943–1945)

 

Mao Zedong In Chinese Schools

Viticulture and Enology

May 23, 2026
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Milan Cathedral Vector Illustration eps 8 file format

The Degree Course in Viticulture and Enology has the main objective of training oenological technicians with adequate skills to establish and manage wineries, enhancing both the agricultural product and the wine derived from it. This objective is pursued by providing, first, adequate basic scientific and cultural knowledge, based on mathematical, physical, chemical and biological sciences and, subsequently, professionalizing skills in the wine sector, aimed at developing operational skills of an agro-technological and managerial nature as well as framing the production activity from a historical, geographical, economic and environmental point of view….[Click image]

Grappoli d'uva

The University of Milan: A Multidisciplinary Campus

 

Castagne e cucina: ricette a base di castagne conservate


Un mondo fatto bene

Timon of Athens

May 23, 2026
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The Oxford Union Debating Society, founded in 1823, is one of the world’s most prestigious debating societies, affiliated with the University of Oxford. It has hosted numerous influential speakers and debates, including historical figures like Winston Churchill and Malcolm X. Over the years, it has played a vital role in shaping public discourse and fostering critical thinking among students. The society’s iconic debating chamber and rich tradition of lively debates have made it an enduring institution in the world of debate and public speaking.

“In an era of cancellation and defenestration we sometimes forget that we both cannot go on like this and that we have been here before. We know this because our greatest writers and artists have addressed this question in their own times.

When Roger [Scrouton] was going through his own battle with the shallows I often thought of Shakespeare’s rarely performed but great play Timon of Athens. Timon has the whole world before him. He is surrounded by friends and admirers. He is generous to all. Yet he falls on hard times and when he does absolutely everybody deserts him. He is left with nothing and nobody, and risks being filled with despair and rage. It does not help that he is shadowed by the cynical philosopher Apemantus, who has warned him that just such a desertion might occur.”

— Douglas Murray

Outdoor Events

May 22, 2026
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“Panoramic View of the Greek Amphitheatre at Syracuse” / Abraham Louis Rodolphe Ducros (18th Century)

Today at 15:00 UTC explore best practice literature for outdoor events in cross-cutting fashion; refreshing our understanding about how we make such events in academic settings safe, sustainable and successful.   Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Bleachers, Folding Seating & Grandstands

Audio Standards

Amphitheaters

Audiovisual Experiences

Lightning Protection Systems

Rain & Lightning

Sport Scoreboards

Form v. Function | Function v. Form

Audio and Music Engineering

Virtual reality technology in evacuation simulation of sport stadiums

Open Air Audio

May 22, 2026
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Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre

University of Colorado | Boulder County

 

Hosting open-air celebrations such as graduations and cultural requires sensitivity to audio standards that ensure high-quality sound and audience safety.  Today at the usual hour we examine the standards covering sound system design, noise control, loudness levels, equipment specifications, weather and local environmental considerations.
Surprisingly, there are many even without approaching the not insignificant cabling system standards.  We pick three representatives titles which cross reference one another:

 

World Health Organization recommendations for limiting exposure to leisure noise (e.g., concerts) to a level exceeding 80 dBA for 24 hours or 140 dB peak sound pressure to prevent hearing loss.  Recommendations for speech heavy events will defer from musical events.

 

Audio Engineering Society Guideline AES56-2008 which provides recommendations for loudspeaker placement in sound reinforcement systems.  Key points include:

    • Height and Angle: Line array speakers are often elevated (e.g., on trusses or poles) and angled to cover the audience while reducing sound spill to non-audience areas.
    • Distance: Main speakers should be placed to avoid excessive sound pressure near the front (e.g., 95–100 dBA max for audience safety) and ensure clarity at the back.

Acoustical Society of America ASA-2010 Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools.  While primarily for schools, this standard’s principles can apply to open-air educational or community events, emphasizing background noise control and speech intelligibility.  For open-air audiences at events like outdoor lectures or festivals, speaker placement should minimize interference from environmental noise (e.g., traffic, wind). The standard suggests maintaining a signal-to-noise ratio where speech is at least 15 dB above background noise for clarity.

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Related:

Amphitheaters

Gallery: Graduation Commencement Speeches

 


Examples of challenges met in parking lot performances by the USA’s best cover band from Smyrna Georgia:

 



Harvard University | Middlesex County Massachusetts

ICC 300 Bleachers, Folding Seating, Grandstands

May 22, 2026
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COMPLETE MONOGRAPH: 2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES

“View of the Colosseum” 1747 Giovanni Paolo Panini

 

Play is the making of civilization—how one plays the game

more to the point than whether the game is won or lost.

 

The purpose of this standard is to establish the minimum requirements to safeguard health, safety and general welfare through structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability and safety to life and property relative to the construction, alteration, repair, operation and maintenance of new and existing temporary and permanent bench bleacher, folding and telescopic seating and grandstands.  This standard is intended for adoption by government agencies and organizations setting model codes to achieve uniformity in technical design criteria in building codes and other regulations.

FREE ACCESS: Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands

We are tracking the changes in the transcripts linked below:

ICC 300-2020 edition Public Input Agenda – January 2022

ICC 300-2017 edition Public Comment Draft – October 2017

Consensus Committee on Bleacher Safety (IS-BLE)

This title is on the standing agenda of our Sport, Olahraga (Indonesian), رياضة (Arabic), colloquia.   You are welcomed to join us any day at with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Virtual reality technology in evacuation simulation of sport stadiums

National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security

Code of Practice for Emergency Sound Systems at Sports Venues

 


Posted December 6, 2019

At the April International Code Council Group A Hearings there were three candidate code changes related to the safety standard of care for athletic venues:

E104-18 (§ 1017 regarding exit travel distances) | PDF Page 218 of the Complete Monograph

F9-18 (§ 304 regarding spaces under bleachers) | PDF Page 1021 of the Complete Monograph

F135-18 (§ 907 regarding communication systems for open air bleachers) | PDF Page 1296 of the Complete Monograph

These concepts will likely be coordinated with another ICC regulatory product — ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands — covered here previously.   ICC 300 is a separate document but some of the safety concepts track through both.

The ICC Public Comment Hearings on Group A comments in Richmond Virginia ended a few days ago (CLICK HERE).   The balloting is being processed by the appropriate committee and will be released soon.  For the moment, we are happy to walk through the proposed changes – that will become part of the 2021 International Building Code — any day at 11 AM Eastern time.   We will walk through all athletic and recreation enterprise codes and standards on Friday, November 2nd, 11 AM Eastern time.   For access to either teleconference, click on the LIVE Link at the upper right corner of our home page.

Issue: [15-283]

Category: Athletics & Recreation, Architectural, Public Safety

Contact: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Jack Janveja

Link to our ICC Workspace

LEARN MORE:

 


Posted October 19, 2017

The International Code Council has launched a new revision cycle for its consensus document — ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands.  The purpose of the effort is the development of appropriate, reasonable, and enforceable model health and safety provisions for new and existing installations of all types of bleachers and bleacher-type seating, including fixed and folding bleachers for indoor, outdoor, temporary, and permanent installations. Such provisions would serve as a model for adoption and use by enforcement agencies at all levels of government in the interest of national uniformity.

Comments are due December 4th.  The document is free.  You may obtain an electronic copy from: https://www.iccsafe.org/codes-techsupport/standards/is-ble/.  Comments may be sent to Edward Wirtschoreck, (888) 422-7233, ewirtschoreck@iccsafe with copy to psa@ansi.org)

* With some authority, we can claim that without Standards Michigan, many education industry trade associations would not be as involved in asserting the interest of facility managers in global consensus standards development processes.   See ABOUT.   

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