Des Plaines residents won't see digital billboards popping up along the two bordering tollways anytime soon.
The city's legal and licensing committee last week shot down an idea to craft a policy allowing LED boards along Interstate 90 and Interstate 94, pointing to the city's hostile history with billboards, and the zero revenue the city would make from the signs.
"I don't really see much benefit to the municipal government at all," said Ald. Matt Bogusz, who added residents near static billboards might be upset if the signs changed to digital. "I'm not certain that it's the right thing for the city."
Des Plaines restricts LED billboards, which were first proposed in the city in 2007, said City Attorney Dave Wiltse.
At that time, the northwest suburb was embroiled in a federal lawsuit with Covenant Media, which claimed the city's billboard ordinance was unconstitutional, partially because of the $15,000 licensing fee. As a result, the city dropped the fee, took away the city manager's right to negotiate the contracts, and no longer requires a council vote on permits. Des Plaines ultimately won the case.
Since then, the city has allowed new styles and sizes for digital signs, starting with a whole new zoning district for the Rivers Casino.
The City Council recently approved a text amendment to allow a small-size LED board at an office park, provided the sign is used for on-site advertising and limited city messages. Aldermen also in December gave their blessing for businesses to build larger and brighter electronic message signs, pending variance approval.
"It seems appropriate at this time that if the city is going to embrace or at least look at…the issue of LED billboards, this would be a time to bring that forward," Wiltse said.
Besides one-time permit fees, the city could not make any money from the signs unless it owns the property, Wiltse added. He said light intensity can also be altered during the day.
During the discussion, Ald. Dick Sayad said he had mixed feelings about the idea and wondered if digital billboards might be a distraction for drivers. Ald. Jim Brookman agreed, adding the city has existing billboards that are almost in residents' backyards near River Road and Touhy Avenue.
"Having a sign like this with a changing message…they're already extremely upset (billboards are) there at all," Brookman said.
John Vebber, a real estate manager for Clear Channel Outdoors, said his company would support stringent regulations for the digital signs. He added the messages change about every 10 seconds.
"Frankly, the Amber Alerts and the public messaging and the weather messaging..they've proven to be very beneficial for all the communities we've worked in," Vebber said.
Ald. Mike Charewicz said he wanted to go ahead with the digital signs and said the city should check if Des Plaines Park District and Des Plaines Theatre events could be advertised on the boards. He asked if the city could legally put an expiration on permits, which may be another revenue stream for the city.
2012年1月31日 星期二
2012年1月30日 星期一
I-lighting Offers Complete Stairlighting Solution for Enhancing Indoor & Outdoor Stair Safety
I-lighting, the leading manufacturer of extremely easy-to-install, reliable and cost-effective interior and exterior lighting applications, has enhanced the effectiveness of its indoor and outdoor StairLighting System with the introduction of a newly-designed LED display that illuminates each individual step.
The newly-introduced fixture is designed to specifically increase safety, reduce injuries resulting from falls on poorly-lit stairways and help contractors, builders and home owners nationwide to meet the latest codes mandating the illumination of interior and exterior stairways. This includes the latest set of regulations issued by the International Code Council (ICC), which clearly details the need to light the treads and landings of interior stairways to "levels not less than 1 foot-candle" and install lighting in "the immediate vicinity of the top landing of exterior stairs."
"Staircase falls injure thousands of people each year," says Scott Holland, I-lighting's president and CEO. "Improper maintenance, obstruction and poor lighting coupled with health issues are often the leading culprits of injuries, which can range from fractures and sprains to death. Unfortunately, the elderly and those with impaired vision are even more susceptible to these forms of incidents.
"As a result, we've enhanced our Indoor and Outdoor StairLighting Kits to offer even greater illumination for each and every stair. Many stair lights focus their beams from the center of the step to the outside ridge. Our new LED fixtures are not only cost-effective and extremely easy-to-install, they target their rays so the vast majority of every step from front to back is bathed in light."
According, to The National Safety Council nearly 12,000 deaths are attributed to stair falls in the United States with half of these fatalities occurring in the home. As a result, stair accidents are second only to automobile accidents as the major cause of unintended injuries in the United States. In addition, the Home Safety Council (HSC) reports that falls account for approximately one-third of all home injury deaths, while falls involving stairs or steps are the number two cause or fall-related deaths.
I-lighting's new Modern LED Stair Lights are available for use as either interior or exterior kits to extend the visibility and safety of stairs located virtually anywhere in or around the home or office. This includes basement and interior staircases, porches and decking that exist in poorly-lit spaces and pose potential tripping and falling hazards.
Each kit has everything necessary for installations including light fixtures with unique LED spotlights, patented plug A into B wiring harness and all fastener accessories necessary for complete installations. The Stairlighting Kit can also be purchased to support installations with or without access to the back of stairs or for spiral, carpeted or wooden stair applications.
Virtually maintenance-free, the system's LED lights are easily attached by simply plugging together each fixture's A into B connectors. Simplicity, cost-effectiveness and longevity are all keys to the system, which also includes a lifetime warranty on the LED bulbs. In addition, each LED light uses approximately 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and is rated for 100,000 hours of operation or 12-plus years if used 24-hours-a-day/seven-days-a-week.
The newly-introduced fixture is designed to specifically increase safety, reduce injuries resulting from falls on poorly-lit stairways and help contractors, builders and home owners nationwide to meet the latest codes mandating the illumination of interior and exterior stairways. This includes the latest set of regulations issued by the International Code Council (ICC), which clearly details the need to light the treads and landings of interior stairways to "levels not less than 1 foot-candle" and install lighting in "the immediate vicinity of the top landing of exterior stairs."
"Staircase falls injure thousands of people each year," says Scott Holland, I-lighting's president and CEO. "Improper maintenance, obstruction and poor lighting coupled with health issues are often the leading culprits of injuries, which can range from fractures and sprains to death. Unfortunately, the elderly and those with impaired vision are even more susceptible to these forms of incidents.
"As a result, we've enhanced our Indoor and Outdoor StairLighting Kits to offer even greater illumination for each and every stair. Many stair lights focus their beams from the center of the step to the outside ridge. Our new LED fixtures are not only cost-effective and extremely easy-to-install, they target their rays so the vast majority of every step from front to back is bathed in light."
According, to The National Safety Council nearly 12,000 deaths are attributed to stair falls in the United States with half of these fatalities occurring in the home. As a result, stair accidents are second only to automobile accidents as the major cause of unintended injuries in the United States. In addition, the Home Safety Council (HSC) reports that falls account for approximately one-third of all home injury deaths, while falls involving stairs or steps are the number two cause or fall-related deaths.
I-lighting's new Modern LED Stair Lights are available for use as either interior or exterior kits to extend the visibility and safety of stairs located virtually anywhere in or around the home or office. This includes basement and interior staircases, porches and decking that exist in poorly-lit spaces and pose potential tripping and falling hazards.
Each kit has everything necessary for installations including light fixtures with unique LED spotlights, patented plug A into B wiring harness and all fastener accessories necessary for complete installations. The Stairlighting Kit can also be purchased to support installations with or without access to the back of stairs or for spiral, carpeted or wooden stair applications.
Virtually maintenance-free, the system's LED lights are easily attached by simply plugging together each fixture's A into B connectors. Simplicity, cost-effectiveness and longevity are all keys to the system, which also includes a lifetime warranty on the LED bulbs. In addition, each LED light uses approximately 80 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and is rated for 100,000 hours of operation or 12-plus years if used 24-hours-a-day/seven-days-a-week.
2012年1月29日 星期日
Gustavo Dudamel conducts Mahler's Fifth and Sixth
In the summer of 1901, Mahler celebrated his 41st birthday and began his Fifth Symphony. For all that was new about his first four symphonies, they were nonetheless song-filled, poetically and spiritually inspired products of 19th century German Romanticism. Although Mahler's moods were many, dark tunnels still promised light at the end. With the Fifth, and more so with the agitated Sixth, Mahler took the hard-edged, modernist plunge into a future and fate unknowable.
On Thursday, the day Gustavo Dudamel celebrated his 31st birthday, his Mahler Project turned the troubling 20th century corner in an imaginative performance of the Fifth Symphony with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The next night, Dudamel led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a driving, riveting Sixth.
When Dudamel recorded the Fifth five years ago, he took a score with which many conductors have trouble finding a trajectory, pretty much on its contradictory, if exciting, face value. Now his confidence has grown to ask unanswerable questions.
A possible way to read this symphony is as the farewell to one age and a wary but game readiness for the next. In five movements and three parts, it begins with a funeral march, introduced by solo trumpet dirge, the battle lost, the battlefield a plain of sorrow. The slow Adagietto, famous as memorial music, was not originally meant to be played snail-slow but as a robust song of love. That leads to a cheerful, contrapuntal rondo, its role in the drama unclear.
Dudamel and his huge Bolivar band readily underscored Mahler's wildness and most extravagant emotions. But most telling was his Adagietto, which is scored for strings and harp. It was quite slow but redolent of tender romance not tragedy, with the Bolívar harpist even sprinkling a dash of salsa dust. The Rondo sneaked in no longer boisterous but slyly full of an expectation for music heading in new directions.
The Sixth heads into those new places but with a reputation for being unrelentingly grim (it is called the "Tragic"). In four movements, with no extra-musical program, it is Mahler's most traditional symphony. But Mahler merely needed a trustworthy vessel in which to contain his startling musical experiments.
On Friday Dudamel was not, as he was in the Fifth, fancy. But neither was he grim. He attacked the Sixth with a frank rhythmic intensity that presaged Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," which premiered in 1913, a decade after Mahler begin the Sixth and two years after he died. Dudamel tapped the L.A. Phil's incomparable responsiveness for Mahlerian ferocity and ephemeral delicacy. The sound, whether needing booming bass or evanescent percussion, maintained extraordinary tactile immediacy.
Mahler may have had Armageddon in sight in the Sixth, but he knew the world's wonders, and the sheer vibrancy of the L.A. Phil's instrumental dabs of color made this performance practically -- and usually for the Sixth -- a celebration of life. Gorgeous lyricism sprang, seemingly out of nowhere. Cow bells rang invitingly from onstage and off, as if the lush mountainside beckoned.
The slow movement is even more beautiful than the Fifth's Adagietto. The maws open in the Finale, but with such colors as music had never known, and these obviously interested Dudamel as much as the hurtling rhythmic energy.
On Thursday, the day Gustavo Dudamel celebrated his 31st birthday, his Mahler Project turned the troubling 20th century corner in an imaginative performance of the Fifth Symphony with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela in Walt Disney Concert Hall. The next night, Dudamel led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a driving, riveting Sixth.
When Dudamel recorded the Fifth five years ago, he took a score with which many conductors have trouble finding a trajectory, pretty much on its contradictory, if exciting, face value. Now his confidence has grown to ask unanswerable questions.
A possible way to read this symphony is as the farewell to one age and a wary but game readiness for the next. In five movements and three parts, it begins with a funeral march, introduced by solo trumpet dirge, the battle lost, the battlefield a plain of sorrow. The slow Adagietto, famous as memorial music, was not originally meant to be played snail-slow but as a robust song of love. That leads to a cheerful, contrapuntal rondo, its role in the drama unclear.
Dudamel and his huge Bolivar band readily underscored Mahler's wildness and most extravagant emotions. But most telling was his Adagietto, which is scored for strings and harp. It was quite slow but redolent of tender romance not tragedy, with the Bolívar harpist even sprinkling a dash of salsa dust. The Rondo sneaked in no longer boisterous but slyly full of an expectation for music heading in new directions.
The Sixth heads into those new places but with a reputation for being unrelentingly grim (it is called the "Tragic"). In four movements, with no extra-musical program, it is Mahler's most traditional symphony. But Mahler merely needed a trustworthy vessel in which to contain his startling musical experiments.
On Friday Dudamel was not, as he was in the Fifth, fancy. But neither was he grim. He attacked the Sixth with a frank rhythmic intensity that presaged Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring," which premiered in 1913, a decade after Mahler begin the Sixth and two years after he died. Dudamel tapped the L.A. Phil's incomparable responsiveness for Mahlerian ferocity and ephemeral delicacy. The sound, whether needing booming bass or evanescent percussion, maintained extraordinary tactile immediacy.
Mahler may have had Armageddon in sight in the Sixth, but he knew the world's wonders, and the sheer vibrancy of the L.A. Phil's instrumental dabs of color made this performance practically -- and usually for the Sixth -- a celebration of life. Gorgeous lyricism sprang, seemingly out of nowhere. Cow bells rang invitingly from onstage and off, as if the lush mountainside beckoned.
The slow movement is even more beautiful than the Fifth's Adagietto. The maws open in the Finale, but with such colors as music had never known, and these obviously interested Dudamel as much as the hurtling rhythmic energy.
2012年1月19日 星期四
DRP Group Adds Chroma-Q Color Force to Production Inventory
The lighting division of UK live event and communications agency, DRP Group, has made its first investment in Chroma-Q products with the purchase of 24 Color ForceTM 48 LED battens.
DRP is a single source supplier to a multiplicity of corporate presentations, live events, festivals, awards shows, parties and charity works. Their HQ is in the Midlands; they also have offices in London and Manchester and work all over the UK and internationally.
Richard Parmenter, DRP's Head of Lighting explains that they specifically wanted an LED batten fixture that would light walls, cyc, banners and architectural features with a smooth, linear wash.
After comprehensive comparisons between a number of fixtures, Chroma-Q was selected as the brand of choice for DRP. Rikki and his colleague MD Adam Pardoe were both equally impressed and soon made the decision to invest in the Color Force.
Apart from seeing Color Force in action for themselves, Chroma-Q had also been recommended by several of their regular freelancers.
They liked the richness of the colours and the fact that the Color Force offers a clean white which can be either cold or warm by seamlessly blending amber alongside the RGB LEDs for an enhanced colour gamut. This also delivers a better range of warmer colours – from the most bold, striking saturates and primaries to a near infinite selection of delicate, subtle pastels.
Another key factor for the DRP lighting team was the smooth fades to blackout, which Rikki describes as "completely seamless" and "virtually imperceptible from those of generics", with no flickering or juddering. This is due to the Color Force's finely tuned 'theatrical grade' dimming curve, which Rikki explains "makes them excellent for using and blending in with conventional incandescent and other light sources."
Since buying the Color Force fixtures, they have been in demand for a diversity of projects. The Color Force 48 version also happens to be the same width as DRP's standard modular set panels, which are 4 x 10 ft. When used for lighting sets, "They can really bring depth and additional dimension to our designs with their colour and intensity" states Rikki.
They have been perfect for all the applications DRP had in mind – illuminating cycs, backdrops, banners, and an assortment of large areas. The cyc lens plate – devised for throws of up to 5 metres – is proving very useful for these applications. They have also been used extensively for side-stage lighting and at sites/in venues where power is limited.
DRP recently used the fixtures for lighting the Hereford & Worcester Chamber Business Awards 2011, staged in the elegant ecclesiastical environs of Worcester Cathedral.
They were placed on the floor and used to gently highlight 14 imposing pillars running along the Nave, in the process also lighting areas of the ceiling 20 metres above, such is the intensity of the units. They were programmed to produce red and white looks – the corporate colours of the Chamber of Commerce – beautifully picking out the many detailed architectural features in their path.
Rikki also comments on the robust build quality, which is another essential consideration for a busy operation like DRP, where reliability is absolutely paramount.
DRP is a single source supplier to a multiplicity of corporate presentations, live events, festivals, awards shows, parties and charity works. Their HQ is in the Midlands; they also have offices in London and Manchester and work all over the UK and internationally.
Richard Parmenter, DRP's Head of Lighting explains that they specifically wanted an LED batten fixture that would light walls, cyc, banners and architectural features with a smooth, linear wash.
After comprehensive comparisons between a number of fixtures, Chroma-Q was selected as the brand of choice for DRP. Rikki and his colleague MD Adam Pardoe were both equally impressed and soon made the decision to invest in the Color Force.
Apart from seeing Color Force in action for themselves, Chroma-Q had also been recommended by several of their regular freelancers.
They liked the richness of the colours and the fact that the Color Force offers a clean white which can be either cold or warm by seamlessly blending amber alongside the RGB LEDs for an enhanced colour gamut. This also delivers a better range of warmer colours – from the most bold, striking saturates and primaries to a near infinite selection of delicate, subtle pastels.
Another key factor for the DRP lighting team was the smooth fades to blackout, which Rikki describes as "completely seamless" and "virtually imperceptible from those of generics", with no flickering or juddering. This is due to the Color Force's finely tuned 'theatrical grade' dimming curve, which Rikki explains "makes them excellent for using and blending in with conventional incandescent and other light sources."
Since buying the Color Force fixtures, they have been in demand for a diversity of projects. The Color Force 48 version also happens to be the same width as DRP's standard modular set panels, which are 4 x 10 ft. When used for lighting sets, "They can really bring depth and additional dimension to our designs with their colour and intensity" states Rikki.
They have been perfect for all the applications DRP had in mind – illuminating cycs, backdrops, banners, and an assortment of large areas. The cyc lens plate – devised for throws of up to 5 metres – is proving very useful for these applications. They have also been used extensively for side-stage lighting and at sites/in venues where power is limited.
DRP recently used the fixtures for lighting the Hereford & Worcester Chamber Business Awards 2011, staged in the elegant ecclesiastical environs of Worcester Cathedral.
They were placed on the floor and used to gently highlight 14 imposing pillars running along the Nave, in the process also lighting areas of the ceiling 20 metres above, such is the intensity of the units. They were programmed to produce red and white looks – the corporate colours of the Chamber of Commerce – beautifully picking out the many detailed architectural features in their path.
Rikki also comments on the robust build quality, which is another essential consideration for a busy operation like DRP, where reliability is absolutely paramount.
2012年1月18日 星期三
Five ways nanomanufacturing improves manufacturing today
This March, nanomanufacturing experts will be gathering in Boston to share their knowledge with other manufacturing professionals at the NanoManufacturing Conference and Exhibits organized by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. In addition to discussions on mid- to long-term applications of this smallest of technologies, there will be information on how it is already impacting the industry as evidenced in these five ways.
1) Materials – Nanotechnology is creating exceptionally light, yet extremely tough, materials, such as graphene. Nano composites are uniquely customizable to adhere to other materials. They are currently used in golf clubs and tennis rackets, with expectations that they will transform the aerospace, defense and transportation industries in the not-too-distant future.
2) Coatings – Nanotechnology is enabling coatings to have numerous beneficial properties that are proving very marketable. Nanocoatings are known to be a thermal barrier, flame retardant, ultraviolet resistance, self and easy cleaning, wear resistant, friction reducing, corrosion resistant, anti-scratch resistance, antibacterial and anti-fingerprint. They can even be self healing. Nanocoatings are used in myriad industries including automotive, defense, household cleaners, construction and exterior protection, with a very promising future in many more fields.
3) Energy Collection and Storage – Surface-to-volume ratios give nano particles most of their power. For example, a golf ball by volume equals the surface of a playing card. That same golf ball by nano particles has a surface area equivalent to four football fields. These particles use light more efficiently which is improving the efficiency and cost of solar panels.
4) Lighting – Quantum dots are nanoparticles of a semiconductor material with unique optical and electrical properties. A manufacturer can precisely control the size of a quantum dot to determine the color of light emitted. In addition to enabling the manufacturing of LED lights, quantum dots are used in electroluminescent displays and solid-state lighting.
5) Manufacturing Processes – Self-assembly is a branch of nanotechnology in which objects, devices and systems form structures without external prodding. Biological systems use self-assembly to construct various molecules and structures. Think of it as LEGOS that assemble themselves. This process is currently being used in computer chips, and has potential benefits for water purification, sanitation, agriculture, alternative energy and medicine.
"More than 1,300 products have already made it to market using nanotechnology, with many more in the pipeline," said Lauralyn McDaniel, the conference manager. "This conference provides an opportunity for manufacturers from almost any industry to either be introduced to nanomanufacturing or discover the latest advances in the technology."
The NanoManufacturing conference is co-located with the MicroManufacturing Conference and Exhibits. Both events have been designed based on feedback attendees have given that the most valuable part of attending an SME conference is the people they meet and the resources they gain.
To encourage the synchronistic collaboration, the sessions are shorter and breaks are longer, the exhibits have been arranged "in the round" to promote discussion, and the Conversation Connection areas are ideal for having in-depth conversations with colleagues. Attendees of either conference can go back and forth between the two and tailor this event to their own interests and needs.
1) Materials – Nanotechnology is creating exceptionally light, yet extremely tough, materials, such as graphene. Nano composites are uniquely customizable to adhere to other materials. They are currently used in golf clubs and tennis rackets, with expectations that they will transform the aerospace, defense and transportation industries in the not-too-distant future.
2) Coatings – Nanotechnology is enabling coatings to have numerous beneficial properties that are proving very marketable. Nanocoatings are known to be a thermal barrier, flame retardant, ultraviolet resistance, self and easy cleaning, wear resistant, friction reducing, corrosion resistant, anti-scratch resistance, antibacterial and anti-fingerprint. They can even be self healing. Nanocoatings are used in myriad industries including automotive, defense, household cleaners, construction and exterior protection, with a very promising future in many more fields.
3) Energy Collection and Storage – Surface-to-volume ratios give nano particles most of their power. For example, a golf ball by volume equals the surface of a playing card. That same golf ball by nano particles has a surface area equivalent to four football fields. These particles use light more efficiently which is improving the efficiency and cost of solar panels.
4) Lighting – Quantum dots are nanoparticles of a semiconductor material with unique optical and electrical properties. A manufacturer can precisely control the size of a quantum dot to determine the color of light emitted. In addition to enabling the manufacturing of LED lights, quantum dots are used in electroluminescent displays and solid-state lighting.
5) Manufacturing Processes – Self-assembly is a branch of nanotechnology in which objects, devices and systems form structures without external prodding. Biological systems use self-assembly to construct various molecules and structures. Think of it as LEGOS that assemble themselves. This process is currently being used in computer chips, and has potential benefits for water purification, sanitation, agriculture, alternative energy and medicine.
"More than 1,300 products have already made it to market using nanotechnology, with many more in the pipeline," said Lauralyn McDaniel, the conference manager. "This conference provides an opportunity for manufacturers from almost any industry to either be introduced to nanomanufacturing or discover the latest advances in the technology."
The NanoManufacturing conference is co-located with the MicroManufacturing Conference and Exhibits. Both events have been designed based on feedback attendees have given that the most valuable part of attending an SME conference is the people they meet and the resources they gain.
To encourage the synchronistic collaboration, the sessions are shorter and breaks are longer, the exhibits have been arranged "in the round" to promote discussion, and the Conversation Connection areas are ideal for having in-depth conversations with colleagues. Attendees of either conference can go back and forth between the two and tailor this event to their own interests and needs.
2012年1月17日 星期二
The dream lives on in Lake City
When an assassin's bullet struck down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of a Memphis motel on April 4, 1968, his legacy had already been firmly established.
His passionate speeches calling for racial equality and an end to segregation changed the way people of different races perceived each other and led to laws protecting the rights of minorities and women.
King's death at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:06 p.m., 65 minutes after he was shot, silenced the 39-year-old civil rights leader's voice forever. But the bullet filed from assassin James Earl Ray's rifle failed to kill the dream.
For thousands of people who lined the Lake City parade route honoring King on Monday, it was an opportunity to remember his legacy.
The parade began at the Department of Transportation office on South Marion Avenue, led by two Lake City Police patrol cars with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Hundreds participated in the march along the more than a mile-long parade route, including public officials, bands from both high schools and Richardson Middle School, junior ROTC units and church groups from the area.
Floats were filled with children waving signs such as "We are the Future," "From the Outhouse to the White House. The Power of a Dream," and "We Remember Your Labor of Love."
Watis McNeil, of Lake City, said Monday was a paid holiday from his job at the Veteran's Administration Hospital but he chose to watch the parade as it passed in front of his workplace as a way to pay tribute to King.
"I came here because of history and pride," McNeil said. "If we forget our heritage, we'll lose our soul and what we can be in the future."
McNeil said he has seen great improvements since King's death.
"We have evolved as a society," he said. "You get God to lead you and you'll get to where you need to be."
Mike Goodyear, of Lake City, said he was watching the parade for the second time. But it was the first time for his 6-year-old daughter, Nicole.
"It''s a good thing for people to do," he said of the parade. "It reminds everyone what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for."
Daphne Jones, of High Springs, said she was happy so many youths participated in the parade or stood on the parade route.
She believes King, who died when she was 2 years old, helped people realize that everyone, regardless of race, has much in common.
"You take away the skin color and we're all the same," Jones said. "It [the parade] makes me think of the entire struggle everyone went through."
His passionate speeches calling for racial equality and an end to segregation changed the way people of different races perceived each other and led to laws protecting the rights of minorities and women.
King's death at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:06 p.m., 65 minutes after he was shot, silenced the 39-year-old civil rights leader's voice forever. But the bullet filed from assassin James Earl Ray's rifle failed to kill the dream.
For thousands of people who lined the Lake City parade route honoring King on Monday, it was an opportunity to remember his legacy.
The parade began at the Department of Transportation office on South Marion Avenue, led by two Lake City Police patrol cars with sirens blaring and lights flashing.
Hundreds participated in the march along the more than a mile-long parade route, including public officials, bands from both high schools and Richardson Middle School, junior ROTC units and church groups from the area.
Floats were filled with children waving signs such as "We are the Future," "From the Outhouse to the White House. The Power of a Dream," and "We Remember Your Labor of Love."
Watis McNeil, of Lake City, said Monday was a paid holiday from his job at the Veteran's Administration Hospital but he chose to watch the parade as it passed in front of his workplace as a way to pay tribute to King.
"I came here because of history and pride," McNeil said. "If we forget our heritage, we'll lose our soul and what we can be in the future."
McNeil said he has seen great improvements since King's death.
"We have evolved as a society," he said. "You get God to lead you and you'll get to where you need to be."
Mike Goodyear, of Lake City, said he was watching the parade for the second time. But it was the first time for his 6-year-old daughter, Nicole.
"It''s a good thing for people to do," he said of the parade. "It reminds everyone what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for."
Daphne Jones, of High Springs, said she was happy so many youths participated in the parade or stood on the parade route.
She believes King, who died when she was 2 years old, helped people realize that everyone, regardless of race, has much in common.
"You take away the skin color and we're all the same," Jones said. "It [the parade] makes me think of the entire struggle everyone went through."
2012年1月16日 星期一
Top 2012 Trend: LED Lighting
Lighting control is nothing new for most CE pros. But 2012 could bring a big boost to the category thanks to LEDs (light emitting diodes) - those long-lasting, energy-efficient and often colorful gems that are quickly replacing the disgraced incandescent.
First, the ROI on LED bulbs is well chronicled, and the return is becoming increasingly attractive as prices continue to drop. Ikea, for example, sells LED bulbs for $14 for a 45-watt replacement.
He notes three key selling points: "Bulbs can last three to five years; the light looks natural; and there's no 'tinging' when dimming down like with incandescent."
He says the light-swap pays for itself in about two years.
The plain-old-LED business was so good for integrator Jim Sweeney that he launched an entire business around it. The new company, Eco-Tronics, has landed several six-figure commercial jobs simply by charting the ROI for facilities' managers.
Sweeney says he can demonstrate a two-year ROI on LED replacement for most commercial facilities - in an environment that usually requires a five-year payback on such outlays.
"When you can show them 50 to 70 percent savings on electricity, you quickly become their friends," Sweeney says.
On the residential side, he encourages customers to "Call me to see how to save up to $20 per month on your electric bill." That savings, he says, is like "getting your security monitoring for free."
Beyond their energy-saving appeal, LEDs increasingly are being used for fun. Manufacturers of colored LED fixtures and controllers - even from such unlikely sources as Stewart Filmscreen - were seen in record numbers at the CEDIA Expo in September 2011.
Concurrent with that trend, we are seeing a greater demand in the U.S. for DMX-based control. DMX is a standard for lighting control that is most prevalent in Europe and in commercial venues. The technology is especially robust for managing complicated RGBW color schemes.
Dealers are creating some inventive lighting scenes these days for both ambiance and entertainment. A recent Electronic House Home of the Year Awards winner featured a dazzling exterior "light show" created by ForTech Solutions, of Granada Hills, Calif. In that job, the metal halide lights were replaced with energy-saving and long-lasting LED fixtures from Philips Color Kinetics. The 23 new LED fixtures used a total of 875 watts - just a fraction of the 11,000 watts used previously.
"Wattage was traditionally the best way to make your buying decisions when it came to selecting light bulbs in the past," explains Martha Delgado, product marketing manager for Bulbrite. "However, now that more efficient bulbs can produce similar light levels while consuming less energy, the old theory that 'The higher the wattage, the brighter the lamp' isn't true anymore," she says.
When buying LED bulbs, shop lumens, not watts. An LED lamp that replaces a typical 60-watt incandescent, for example, might only use 12 to 13 watts, which makes it much more energy-efficient, but if you want to replace the brightness of a 60-watt incandescent, it will need to produce 800 to 850 lumens.
First, the ROI on LED bulbs is well chronicled, and the return is becoming increasingly attractive as prices continue to drop. Ikea, for example, sells LED bulbs for $14 for a 45-watt replacement.
He notes three key selling points: "Bulbs can last three to five years; the light looks natural; and there's no 'tinging' when dimming down like with incandescent."
He says the light-swap pays for itself in about two years.
The plain-old-LED business was so good for integrator Jim Sweeney that he launched an entire business around it. The new company, Eco-Tronics, has landed several six-figure commercial jobs simply by charting the ROI for facilities' managers.
Sweeney says he can demonstrate a two-year ROI on LED replacement for most commercial facilities - in an environment that usually requires a five-year payback on such outlays.
"When you can show them 50 to 70 percent savings on electricity, you quickly become their friends," Sweeney says.
On the residential side, he encourages customers to "Call me to see how to save up to $20 per month on your electric bill." That savings, he says, is like "getting your security monitoring for free."
Beyond their energy-saving appeal, LEDs increasingly are being used for fun. Manufacturers of colored LED fixtures and controllers - even from such unlikely sources as Stewart Filmscreen - were seen in record numbers at the CEDIA Expo in September 2011.
Concurrent with that trend, we are seeing a greater demand in the U.S. for DMX-based control. DMX is a standard for lighting control that is most prevalent in Europe and in commercial venues. The technology is especially robust for managing complicated RGBW color schemes.
Dealers are creating some inventive lighting scenes these days for both ambiance and entertainment. A recent Electronic House Home of the Year Awards winner featured a dazzling exterior "light show" created by ForTech Solutions, of Granada Hills, Calif. In that job, the metal halide lights were replaced with energy-saving and long-lasting LED fixtures from Philips Color Kinetics. The 23 new LED fixtures used a total of 875 watts - just a fraction of the 11,000 watts used previously.
"Wattage was traditionally the best way to make your buying decisions when it came to selecting light bulbs in the past," explains Martha Delgado, product marketing manager for Bulbrite. "However, now that more efficient bulbs can produce similar light levels while consuming less energy, the old theory that 'The higher the wattage, the brighter the lamp' isn't true anymore," she says.
When buying LED bulbs, shop lumens, not watts. An LED lamp that replaces a typical 60-watt incandescent, for example, might only use 12 to 13 watts, which makes it much more energy-efficient, but if you want to replace the brightness of a 60-watt incandescent, it will need to produce 800 to 850 lumens.
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