From the fabricator: Bits and pieces, and a big rock

This week: a quick hitter version of the blog with lots of short takes on the industry and beyond.

First, it seems like every few weeks I am writing about a weather-related event. This week, the attention is on the fine folks of Joplin after a tornado ripped through the town and basically destroyed 75 percent of it. Our thoughts to everyone affected yet again by the wrath of Mother Nature.

• PPG's new print ad campaign is absolutely spectacular. Very creative and smart, and quite frankly, I am jealous I didn't think of it first. Kudos to Mr. Struble and company for a top notch job.
• Does anyone else have an issue with the fact that our government is wasting millions of dollars trying to prosecute athletic steroid cheats? Will it really make our lives better if they prove Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing drugs in his Tour de France wins? Or if Barry Bonds was on steroids while hitting 73 homers? Let the sports handle it.
• Lots of comments last week in many venues on the whole bank financing issue. My good friend Joe Carlos of Triview Glass left this very smart comment on the home site of this blog that some of the Glass Magazine readers might have missed:
  
  "Max, Thanks for bringing this up. Liquidity is THE issue. Besides the lack of funding for private projects, many, dare I say most, of my customers have lost their credit lines. Most have a sterling credit history and long-term relationships with their bank."
  
  Well said Joe, and thanks for the comment.
• Also last week, I was off when I prematurely congratulated Deron Patterson as president of the TGA. He is the president-elect of that fine group, and Jerry Wright of AAA Glass is still in charge, and according to Deron, doing a tremendous job.
• Big day later this week: The queen of all retail, also known as my sister Marcie, celebrates a birthday. And since I'll probably forget to call, at least I am covering my bases here on the blog. Happy Birthday Marcie!
• Gas prices went up 11 cents last week in the Midwest because of "undisclosed refinery issues"... I swear we are all in the wrong business. What a scam.
•  Beautiful and classy piece sent out by the organizers of GlassBuild America last week recognizing Memorial Day. I think we as a society do not appreciate the meaning of Memorial Day enough, and it was heartening to see some folks still do. And for my two cents, thank you to all of the brave men and women who have served and to those families who have lost loved ones while they fought for our freedoms. Without these amazingly courageous people, we wouldn't have the ability to live even close to the way we do.
• Want to read a story about lawyers that will make your skin crawl? Click here. When lawyers have to meet a quota, it is simply not good.
• Finals picks... NBA: The Heat will romp in five games over the Mavs. No one can stop LeBron and Wade in crunch time. NHL: I have many more friends that are big Canuck fans that would flog me if I picked them, so to protect myself, I'm going with the Bruins in six.
• Last this week, this quote was sent to me by a good friend and it's pretty dang appropriate for some movements that will be taking place this week. The quote was from the awesome movie "Hoosiers" (a take from David vs Goliath) and here's hoping the underdog will prevail...
  
  "And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen"
  
  Amen indeed... brother... Amen. 

Max Perilstein is chief marketing officer for Vitro Architectural Products, Memphis. Write him at mperilstein@vitro.com.

The opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Glass Association, Glass Magazine editors, or other glassblog contributors.