Archive for April, 2008

I just went to the PES press conference. Pat Ryan (PES Executive Director) asked me why I haven’t talked about the name change for PES. I told him I was waiting for the offical release (I thought that was what we were meeting for today). Turns out this is old news - the T&D Committee Chair missed the announcement. Our President, Wanda Reder told everyone on Monday that we are now the Power and Energy Society. Where was Gene? Well, I was off lining up some folks to talk to my students for the tour of the exhibit floor. I missed the opening, but I got the students a couple of good demos. The students by the way were very excited about the student job fair started here. They got to visit with over 50 employers today and talk about careers in our industry.

Have you been to the HVB exhibit? If not you are missing the new gassless breaker - no SF6 here, so what is replacing the gas - nothing! It is a 72kV 31.5kA breaker. Go see it. Look at the 800kV power breakers photos too when you are there and ask Stephanie Heyden to tell you how they work. 800kV is pretty impressive.

If you love Google Earth like I do, you will love the Burns & McDonnell’s booth. They have the coolest software. It’s called One ToucH PM. You can learn some pretty interesting things from this view point.

The super session on the Smart Grid was super. There was standing room only. The engineers seemed to be soaking up every word (there were a few checking their eye lids for holes - hope the boss doesn’t read blogs). Hopefully they now have a better understanding of this brave new world. Don’t miss these sessions. They really get the experts and the attendees together.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a coffee-holic. I went to Kona for vacation and brought back many pounds of 100% pure Kona coffee. I visited every plantation with a visitor program. I picked coffee beans, watched them roasted and sampled every blend I could find. This afternoon I was walking down the aisle and my nose (Wolves have a highly developed sense of smell) picked up the delightful smell of fresh COFFEE. The nose led me to the Meyers - Thomas and Betts exhibit. They have a real espresso machine with special coffees to order. If you play your cards right, you may get some of their brew - I enjoyed a cappuccino. What a pick-me-up for a late afternoon. I was starting move slowly after many trips from one end of the exhibit floor to the other (about 5 or 6 miles worth roughly). Heck – you got to put out the effort if you want to see it all.

I have to report GE does have fresh baked cookies. I got two of them. I also got to see what is behind the special door. GE is cooking up some pretty amazing things at there exhibit. Go see what you can find out.

I was waiting for my students to arrive when I heard bag pipes that got my attention. Bag pipes always grab my attention. I missed being born on St. Patrick’s Day by two hours. My Mother and her side of the family (Irish) was always a little up set over that, but the German side of the family (Father) was relieved. The Irish side was a handful – fortunately I took after the Irish side. I had forgotten the pipers were leading the attendees into the exhibit hall. There were Carl and Tommy in the lead. What a sight and sound. What could be more appropriate in Chicago; after all what other city dyes a river green every St Patrick’s Day!

I got side tracked in my wanderings when I noticed a strange noise coming from the floor below me. I went over to the rail and looked down and what a surprise - dang, there is a water show going on at the McCormick Place. I stood there for at least 5 minutes and no one was watching except me. It is a great show. Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere. I can understand that, but don’t get so focused you miss beauty right in front of your nose.

This is Pam - Gene asked me to blog about my companion tour of Chicago’s Mansions of Yesteryear. On the bus I found my notebook, but no pen. Seat mate Elaine dug through her SUCCESS bag and found a toothbrush and a spoon, but no pen. When I asked the group, several offered pens. One lady did not request a return; she is our hero.

Without modern utilities, how were Chicago’s early mansions kept warm, cool, and lighted? Chicago’s Clark house, the oldest surviving house built in 1836, had floor to ceiling windows. Open a window in the ceiling of the 3rd floor and air was pulled from the “widow’s walk” on the roof through the house. Walah…air conditioning. 4 fireplaces heated the home, and mirrors set strategically through out the house reflected candle light to brighten the areas at night.

A huge 18,000 sq.ft. mansion built in 1886, the Glessner house had a fireplace in every room. The north side of the 3+ storied house had very narrow windows and a long servants’ hall that acted like a buffer to keep the interior rooms warm. The half basement school room had not only a fireplace, but a 5’ x 6’ wall hung metal radiant heater, to keep the children warm. The large dining room boasted a curved south wall with 5 large windows to receive the sun’s heat. Gas chandeliers and lamps provided light.

Which house did I prefer? The Glessner house. It had 10 servants!

The folks at Trench have been doing so neat things with series coils. They can install one of these on a transmission line and keep the current in manageable levels. That beats taking the line out of service to reconductor it. Stop by and ask Tony or Dave to explain how it works. It’s pretty cool and switchable.