Catching up to technology
December 11, 2023 | My Take
The first motor vehicles hit the road in the 1880s, but according to healinglaw.com, the first laws to regulate them, enacted by Connecticut almost 20 years later in 1901, set speed limits of 12 MPH on city streets and 15 MPH on country roads. That’s it. The sum total of traffic laws for “motors…
Nobody said this would be easy
November 13, 2023 | My Take
You might think that after several years of attending the Advanced Textiles Association’s Expo, it would be pretty repetitious, but I can assure you, it’s really not. Since I work in a market area (emerging technologies) that’s always changing (and expanding, I might add), there are always new…
Think small
October 9, 2023 | My Take
My dad had a fascination with things that are small: a compass the size of your thumbnail, six doors opening into one tiny hallway in his house—anything that could be made smaller and still be functional delighted him. Maybe that’s why a story I read recently caught my attention, and I had to tr…
The fun of being a researcher
September 11, 2023 | My Take
Scientists are often hesitant to speculate (publicly, at least) about future innovations that could impact our industry when the ability to accomplish that is little more than a fantasy. They are more than willing, however, to share information on known-but-very-new technologies or materials that co…
Everybody is a consumer
August 28, 2023 | My Take
Price counts, but it isn’t the only thing. Quality, in the long run, is often more economical, even if it costs more upfront. Can I get what I want when I need to get it? What if something isn’t right? Will the vendor make it right? How long will that take? How will this impact my use of it? Sur…
Provocative books
August 14, 2023 | My Take
My sister, who is an author, ran across a book that she thought would interest me. That turned out to be quite an understatement. The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel may sound a bit bombastic, but Postrel has done such thorough research, and she lays out her…