We follow the construction spend rate of the US education industry; using the US Census Bureau Construction Spending figures released the first day of every month. (We encourage our colleagues in the education facilities industry to respond to Census Bureau-retained data gathering contractors in order to contribute to the accuracy of the report.)
We will scan noteworthy releases of tax advantage financial instruments that finance this construction.
Illumination technologies have had a pattern of consuming about 35 percent of building electrical energy use. That number has been pressed downward with the expanded application of LED luminaires and occupant responsive controls; much of the transformation hastened by the IEEE, IES and ASHRAE best practice catalogs.
Today we run through the development status of these products with specific interest in exterior illumination best practice. This topic also is covered in the 4 time monthly meetings of the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee.
Periodic review of the best practice catalogs that set the standard of care for security of education communities. Less electrotechnical as with Security 100 and 200 and more Regulatory and management codes and standards; a great deal of which are self-referencing.
Frederick Bourchier Taylor (1906-1987) Hockey On Henri Julien Street At Pine Avenue East, Montreal 1948
An overview of public commenting opportunities on proposed standards for sports and recreation equipment and athletic facilities. Send email to bella@standardsmichigan.com for access to the agenda.
US Wintersport Traditions:
Basketball: Basketball is one of the most popular NCAA winter sports. The season typically starts in November and runs through March, culminating in the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, commonly known as March Madness.
Wrestling: Wrestling is another winter sport in the NCAA. The wrestling season usually begins in November and extends through the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which take place in March.
Indoor Track and Field: Indoor track and field competitions take place during the winter months, with athletes competing in various events such as sprints, distance races, jumps, and throws.
Gymnastics: Collegiate gymnastics competitions are held during the winter and early spring months. Both men’s and women’s teams compete in events such as floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, parallel bars, and rings.
Ice Hockey: Ice hockey is a winter sport in the NCAA, with the season typically starting in October or November and continuing into the early months of the following year. Both men’s and women’s teams participate in NCAA ice hockey competitions.
Skiing: Skiing competitions, including alpine and Nordic events, are part of NCAA winter sports. Athletes compete in skiing disciplines such as slalom, giant slalom, and cross-country.
Swimming and Diving: Swimming and diving competitions take place during the winter months. Athletes participate in various swimming events and diving disciplines, with the season culminating in NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
Bowling: Bowling is considered a winter sport in the NCAA, with competitions taking place during the winter and early spring.
With emphasis on OB-GYN because educational settlements are where families begin and grow among the young.
Many research universities have large medical research and clinical delivery enterprises that provide significant revenue. We periodically scan public consultations for literature that sets the standard of care for the facilities and technologies in these enterprises in education communities.
On Saturday, @CBSSports will proudly present the 125th Army-Navy Game.
It’s a tradition that will continue for many years to come, following today’s announcement that CBS will remain the home of this historic and revered rivalry through 2038. pic.twitter.com/E0y69kMV7H
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 9, 2024
“Savannah River Holiday” is a vibrant orchestral overture composed by Ron Nelson in 1952 (revised 1957), evoking the majestic Savannah River’s dual nature. Lasting about nine minutes, it alternates between an energetic Allegro Vivace theme, bursting with rhythmic vitality and flourish, and a serene Adagio, offering somber, reflective lyricism. Originally titled “Savannah River Payday” after Erskine Caldwell’s story, Nelson retitled it to sidestep copyright issues. This work exemplifies his “holiday” series, including Rocky Point Holiday and Aspen Jubilee, demanding technical prowess for advanced ensembles. Its bright colors and expansive melodies capture nature’s power and tranquility.
The Texas Medical Center Orchestra (TMCO) is an independent, award-winning community orchestra founded in 2000 by conductor Libi Lebel, primarily composed of healthcare professionals like physicians, nurses, and medical students from Houston’s Texas Medical Center. It operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and performs in venues such as Houston Methodist Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.
While its founder initially approached the dean of the University of Texas Medical School for support (such as free space and promotion) to launch the group, and it has occasional collaborations—like hosting events at Rice University or featuring soloists from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice—TMCO remains a standalone entity focused on the medical community.
“Composition in red, yellow, blue and black” (1921) / Piet Mondrian
The zeitgeist surrounding data centers in higher education embodies a fervent fusion of technological ambition, sustainability imperatives, and workforce evolution, driven by AI’s insatiable hunger for compute power. Today at the usual hour we examine three projects on US campuses with special attention to the safety and sustainability boundaries set by electrotechnical strandards.
Status check on the catalog of best practice titles covering the management of education community snow and ice management during the coldest months in the Northern Hemisphere.
Today we explain our collaboration with other education settlements in the US and other nations. We conform to participation requirements set by ANSI US Technical Advisory Groups to the International Organization for Standardization but we also have liaison with other universities in the European Union who conform to the participation requirements of their own national standards bodies.
“Prometheus creating Man in the presence of Athena” (1802) / Jean-Simon Berthélemy
Monthly review of all consensus, consortia and open source codes, standards and regulations the set the standard of care for fire safety in educational settlements. We group them with fire protection standards because most of the compliance and enforcement expertise originates with fire safety expertise. Send bella@standardsmichigan.com an email for an advance agenda.
Innovation – Standardization – Commoditization run along a continuum. Today we unpack some of the ideas that hasten (and prohibit) leading practice discovery; how quickly goods and services become a “human right”; why all of this is relevant to education communities and why some believe that commoditization is a myth.
From the Wikipedia
In business literature, commoditization is defined as the process by which goods that have economic value and are distinguishable in terms of attributes (uniqueness or brand) end up becoming simple commodities in the eyes of the market or consumers. It is the movement of a market from differentiated to undifferentiated price competition and from monopolistic competition to perfect competition. Hence, the key effect of commoditization is that the pricing power of the manufacturer or brand owner is weakened: when products become more similar from a buyer’s point of view, they will tend to buy the cheapest.
After months of hard work, the top five teams met at USPTO headquarters today for the final round of the 2025 National Patent Application Drafting Competition. 🏆 And the winners are … ⬇️
From creating a race car safety device that protects drivers from injury to revolutionizing chemotherapy, Spartans have contributed to more than 3,300 inventions. #SpartansWillpic.twitter.com/dchCs0BFBx
For 58 years, 7-Eleven has been protecting its iconic semi-frozen soft drink, the Slurpee. But it doesn’t stop there. The store has more than 200 registered trademarks to protect its goods and services, including “Oh thank Heaven for 7-Eleven” in 1978 and “Brainfreeze” in 1993. pic.twitter.com/b9bkkcijGg
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