What was going on the last time we had a new member join our editorial and art team here at Engineered Systems? Well, everyone was relieved the Millennium Bug hadn’t shut down the world as we know it, the Rams won the Super Bowl when Titans WR Kevin Dyson got tackled one yard short of victory on the game’s final play, and AOL announced it was buying Time-Warner. Having partied like it was 1999 because it was 1999, we had officially arrived in The Future.

 

The subsequent twelve years are now history, of course, and I am pleased to complete this first issue with our new managing editor, James Siegel, on board. While our lack of turnover was fortunate and rare for pretty much any business, we were just as fortunate to find our new team member (whom you can call Jay or J.J. when you run into him at an industry event) in our own editorial backyard.

 

Prior to joining ES, Jay had spent about eight years with Snips, a fellow BNP Media magazine focusing on mechanical construction. And for four years before that, he was education and training editor for our sister pub, The News. So not only does he contribute extensive writing and editing experience to our operation, but he also brings a level of familiarity with HVAC that we were not likely to find.

 

Jay will have his hands in a lot of different areas around here. Primarily, he will be the crucial traffic cop for all our copy and artwork as it careens around our monthly process, editing as he goes. Jay has also begun coordinating our new Today’s News section online, which is the most exciting and obvious change you will notice. This gives us a new and improved (no, seriously) stream of industry news items in that space. So if you want to really keep up, just drop by the homepage for a quick info fix. 

 

Jay will also contribute his talents to some of our three monthly newsletter operations, along with writing the occasional feature article as well. Those of you in the data center sector may also subscribe to Mission Critical, the bimonthly now edited by our former managing editor, Caroline Fritz. Jay will also be spending a smaller slice of his time on that book as well. Coincidentally, not only did Caroline and Jay start at BNP around the same time, but they both earned their degrees at Bowling Green State University. They apparently know how to grow journalists over there in Ohio. Reach Jay at siegelj@bnpmedia.com. 

 

(That said, I notice that Bowling Green neither has green in its colors nor appears to have even an intramural bowling team. What’s up with that?)

 

We all get a lot of e-mail that can best be described as — well, I’ll try to be delicate here — not useful. However, in the remaining space here I’d like to mention a couple of mailing lists I’m honestly glad to be on. The National Environmental Balancing Bureau (NEBB) sends an occasional newsletter, and April’s included links to write-ups on topics such as commissioning best practices, operational procedures (aka “mistake prevention”), advanced info on sound and vibration, and “The High Cost of Improperly Balanced Buildings.” Prime topics for our entire commissioning audience and a lot of facility staff, too, I suspect.

 

Also, I’ll reiterate the good content produced at Goodway’s blog, for which they also send out an occasional newsletter. Appropriately enough, their recent emphasis has revolved around Hurricane Sandy. Topics include “Tips for Flood Damaged HVAC Equipment” and a post-storm IAQ roundtable. Before that, they posted on asthma in schools, a coincidental tie-in with our March K-12 theme. Run a quick search for “Goodway just venting” and you’ll be there in no time.