New Addition to the Tec Museum of Engineering

Tec Inc. Engineering & Design would like to thank Steve Kay of Holophane for his donation to our collection of antique engineering books. The second edition text book “Illuminating Engineering” edited by Cady and Dates is Kay’s second donation to the collection. He previously donated a second edition of the “IES Lighintg Handbook.”

The second edition of Illuminating Engineering was published in 1928. The text book was prepared for students and engineers. The book is divided into two main sections, Principles and Applications, then further sub-divided into addtional specifics. 

One interesting section of the book is the Reflection Factors of Colored Surfaces.  Pasted on to the pages are 32 color cards, similar to paint cards or Pantone samples. Each card has a hole punched through to allow the user to hold an object or sample behind the card and match it to the color.  Each color is assigned a Reflection Factor - the proportion of light reflected by walls and ceilings of various colors.

   

Photo Shoot at SPIRE Institute

Spent yesterday at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, photographing multiple completed projects on the campus. SPIRE is a complex designed for training and educating athletes, as well as hosting major sporting events.

As we moved through the buildings, passers-by would ask what we were doing. I explained that I work for the engineering firm that completed the systems design for most of the campus. Without hesitation each person I talked to complimented the team that designed the facilities. The local community is happy to have such a wonderful complex in their neighborhood.

Photos at http://www.tecinc1.com/photo-gallery/spire-institute/

Arlene & Arthur Holden University Center of Lakeland Community College

On Wednesday, October 26 Tony, Tricia and Brandon attended the grand opening of the Arlene & Arthur Holden University Center of Lakeland Community College. So often the production engineers do not have the opportunity to visit a finished version of a project they worked on.  The Holden Center is 6 miles from our office, making it convenient to send multiple people to the opening celebration.  It’s a fantastic building that has been we recieved by the students and staff of Lakeland and the partner universities.

Software Review | Pear Note for iPad

Last week I was away at a Leadership Advancement Program at the University of Maryland. It was the first of two, two-day sessions. I brought my iPad along for note taking. Prior to class I purchased an app called Pear Note. Pear Note builds on the standard notes app by providing additional controls for tabs, bullets and numbering. However, the coolest feature is the ability to record the presentation / lecture - audio only - and it syncs with the notes you type. 

I’m note a great note taker, so the way I used it was to record the lecture and type the headings from the slides displayed on the board. We received a hardcopy of the slides in our binders. Now I can go back and look at the slides and if I want to hear that part of the lecture, I just tap on the slide heading in my notes and the audio will begin from that slide.

The version I downloaded had a bug that caused a crash when bullets were used. When I returned to my office and updated the iPad, there was a new version of Pear Note that fixed this bug.  Pear Note also works with Dropbox to backup your notes and audio files. That feature allows for sharing your files and provides some safety should your lose your iPad. 

There is also a version of the software for the Mac, which I haven’t bought yet. My understanding is it provides the same features as the iPad version, but also allows you to insert slides, photos and video into your notes.

It’s a great app, well worth the $5 from the iTunes app store.

Celebrating Long Time Employees

Today we had an ice-cream cake celebrating six employees with more than 20 years at Tec. For a firm of our size in this industry, having almost a third of the staff with 20+ years of service is a rarity. It demonstrates a tremendous sense of loyalty for both sides to stick together through good times and challenging times.

To honor this group - Terry, Pam, Jaime, Kelley, Sean and Tim - we brought in an ice cream cake to represent the “Gold Watch”

Thank you to all of the wonderful employees here at Tec.