February 2010

As reported by LightNOW on December 2, 2009, the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and Canadian Specifications Canada (CSC) have ended support of MasterFormat95. Licensing expired December 31, 2009, with the industry being required to switch to MasterFormat 2004. Wayne Engebretson of Reed Construction Data has an interesting take on it here. In short, it’s time [...]

Today is George Washington’s birthday.

Arizona state legislator Frank Antenori has proposed a bill (HB 2337) to assert state’s rights using light bulbs, as reported by AZCentral.com in this article. The point of the legislation is that if incandescent lamps are manufactured in Arizona, then Federal legislation–namely, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which raised efficacy standards for [...]

In January, the RealComm Advisory newsletter published a short article, “Advanced Lighting Control Can Reduce Operating Costs and Improve Worker Satisfaction,” by Terry Mocherniak and Howard Berger, available here. The article talks about digital control architecture as the delivery system for the industry’s most advanced lighting control systems. . . . . . This post [...]

Artist Kara Walker meditates on the nature of her works of art, which frequently render subtly disturbing images rendered in silhouette.

The New York City Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNYC) is preparing to announce the long-awaited results for the 10th Annual NYC Student Lighting Competition at the Exhibition Opening and Reception on March 2, 2010. What: “Liminal Luminosity,” 2010 NYC Student Lighting Competition When: Tuesday March 2, 2010 – Exhibition Opening and Reception: 6-7 [...]

Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto uses a camera to capture the expression of electric charge. The technique, which involves passing hundreds of thousands of volts through a film to a metal table, resulted in “Lightning Fields,” a series of striking images that capture the dynamic nature of electricity. Check it out here.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has issued waivers for several lighting products from the Buy American requirements that apply to manufactured goods to be used in projects funded by EERE under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Recovery Act”). The EERE document includes a waiver [...]

The Congressional Oversight Panel put together to manage the progress of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has released a new report that articulates fears of defaults of billions of dollars in bad commercial real estate loans. Some $1.4 trillion in loans are coming due for refinancing on commercial properties that may be worth 40% [...]