Buzz Lightyear!

In the past I mentioned on this blog that I live in the country. This is relatively recent, as we moved in March 2012. One of the things that I did not fully appreciate, is that the country back roads and lanes are not grtted. So I am driving on roads, with no salt and areas where sheets of ice have formed from the water still flowing off the saturated fields. An interesting mix. I have a front wheel drive car, so not too bad, just allow more time and drive slower. My wife Trix, drives a skittish rear wheel drive mazda and she is having some interesting moments as the back end flicks out. We both are learning the rythms of country living. Glorious sunsets in the summer and  walks down leafy lanes, but in the winter, cold and dark. I miss the the street lights. I guess we all have to come to terms with where and how we live. Many of us take street lighting for granted, but we don't always appreciate how amazing it is to have something, until we don't have it. I am glad I am able to still be in a position to provide lighting were it is needed.

One of my nicknames at work is Buzz. This came about because there were two Pete's in the office and as I was always buzzing about, I got called Buzz. We are talking 25 years ago. So when I got involved with lighting and Buzz Lightyear came along, it seemed quite appropriate. I say all this because when I was diving in a quarry near Leicester - called Stoney Cove, I came across this. These lighting guys get everywhere!!

It has been a busy week. The ILP hosted a technical discussion forum between Industry Partners and lighting professionals on S/P ratios. Those of you that went to the Brighton summit can read Steve Fotios paper on this subject. Steve was at the forum and we had a most intersting time. We need to do the science to confirm why we do what we do, but translating that into practical ways of designing, and the additional information that the manufacturers would have to provide is not quite so straight forward. You will be able to read about the forum in the lighting journal, when our new editor Jill Entwhistle, has written it up as an article.

I also met with all the other other Institution President's and CEO's at an event hosted by the Engineering Council. We are all keen to encourage "engineers" to go for professional registration. We need to encourage registration at all levels. I think the ILP is working hard on this and our Membership VP - Mark Cooper and his team are  providing the infrastructure to help our members to go for professional registration.

Next week is a little quieter, before Executive Board meeting in two weeks time.

Take care in your travels

Pete

Surviving the weather

Saturday 23rd November. In amongst the heavy rain and localised flooding, the sky cleared last night and this morning the fields and hedge rows are covered in frost. I know in about two hours time that there is heavy rain and 60mph gusts coming in from the south. We are certainly experiencing a huge diversity of weather. I watched the documentary on the recent hurricane/super storm Sandy and the devastation. All the precuations the infrastructure companies took and still the weather just overpowered them. I felt sorry for the folks who had to get the utilities back on and working. People were back to torches and the good old candle for light. I am very proud that whilst what we do in terms of lighting may be taken for granted, people miss it when it is not there. I know that good lighting can either be a statement or is so subtil it is not noticed until it goes out. Both are valid, and I go back to what I said some years ago - I am proud to be a lighting professional.
Talking about coping with difficult weather conditions, I am always amazed at how well some creatures cope with the weather.  The picture is a spiders web, has to deal with all stresses and strains, sometimes the web gets broken and the spider gets out there and fixes it. I took this picture on a coast walk in Corwall after a heavy night of rains, which the spider and web survived! Enjoy

 

It has been a busy week, I went to Seeing is Believing at Bruntingthorpe Airfield. I was particularly impressed with a trenching system, that cut a 100mm wide trench to required depth, and "sucked" all the material into the lorry hopper for re-use as recycled material. The speed of the machine was staggering. New technologies like this certainly help with the vital infrastructure our highway lighting needs. Met lots of people and learnt a bit more about lighting and highway signs. A good day.  Next week I am going to a technical discussion forum on SP ratios. Survive the weather. Pete

Cupola's and seeing is believing

It's is late friday evening, been a busy week and I have an early start, so I am doing my blog tonight. Definitely some rather sad dull days towards the end of this week, so I thought I might just give you a hot sunny picture I took in Mosta in Malta. Those of you who know St Paul's cathedral will have seen the magnificant dome. The curved dome section section is sometimes called a cupola. See cross section through showing the construction.

It was blistering hot 38 degrees C, and I had parked up about a mile from the town centre and managed to get lost in the maze of streets before finally arriving at the square where the chuch   Duomo di Mosta: St. Mary o la Rotunda with one of the biggest cupola's in europe. It is huge 39m in diameter. Fantastic sun drenched architecture sitting against a nice warm sky and some european lighting units sit in front of it. I 'll be showing some diving pics of Malta in later blogs

Next week I will be going to Seeing is believing. It is mentioned on the ILP website, and is an opportunity to let other people, with highway based lighting disciplines, know about the ILP. You also might want to check the ILP website out for the competency framework document. We are busy promoting the Institution and I am involved in some of forward planning. Have a good week. Pete

Autumn and Lux Live

A wet, dull autumnal saturday morning, but the promise of sunshine later. I do like the american phrase "the fall" when the leaves turn colour prior to falling. Some amazing stunning colours that you will only see at this time of year. I am sure many of you, like me, enjoy getting out for a walk, to take in the colours and the see the leaves on trees all changing. The photograph is of one leaf, with the sun light on it, so the colour and texture is there to see and enjoy. It might not show on the blog version, but there are flies and other small insects taking in the sun and using the leaf as a refuge. Yet sadly the colours fade and the leaf will fall and provide compost.

 

 

I spent two very useful days at Lux Live and met a lot of people. Those of you that went, I hope, were as pleased as I was with the whole diversity and range of the stands with all the products that were available to look at and discuss. I was particularly impressed with the ILP stand and the number of people that came and had discussions and took information packs. I think the message that we are about promting lighting from all areas and disciplines is slowly getting out there. I learnt so much from conversations with people that know about lighting and at the same time realise that so many people need to be able show to clients and third parties,  that they have knowledge and experience and can back that up with some sort of qualification. Our core values of education,training and being able to have members that can demostrate competency is our strength. Have a good week. Pete

 

 



Fireworks, people and Lux Live

Saturday 3rd November, and it is (for many), the weekend they attend a firworks display. Some of you may even remember Guy Fawkes and an attempt to blow up parliament! Like a lot of things, people sometimes enjoy the celebration, but miss the point of what it is about. I'll come back to that observation from time to time. It brings me nicely to my photograph this week. Taking pictures of fireworks exploding into the night sky is not too difficult with a decent camera. I am staggered the way our eyes can deal with it all, the colour, light dark, movement. A black sky suddenly burst into light. So I often watch the display through my camera viewfinder, but still enjoy it. I like this photograph because it not only shows a burst of spectacular patterns, but looks like two trees made of light shining in the dark sky.

One of the things I said in my speech at the lighting sunnit, was how important people are. The ILP is about people. I say this, because I wanted to mention Jo Tutt, who worked at the ILP Head Office at Rugby and was a huge help to me in getting ready for the summit. Jo has left the ILP to go and be a teacher, so I just wanted to use my blog to say "thank you Jo for your good work for the ILP and I wish you all the best for your future career in teaching".

Finally. Next week is Lux Live. I will be there for both days. Come and see the team on the ILP stand and have a chat. I will be taking part in a discussion forum on highway lighting on tuesday, giving a paper on wednesday morning on lighting and planning, where it is going and presenting an award to the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) young lighter competition winner. Our immediate past President Allan Howard will also be presenting a paper at the same wednesday session as myself, so we hope to see you there. It should be good and I hope to see you there.
Have a great week.
Pete

Inside my brain and motorway lighting

I normally like to start off saturday morning with this blog, but with other commitments, I am writing this tonight.  I have been busy with University City London in being a test subject in their ongoing research into understanding the relationship between light, the eye and the brain. I am excited that this research will continue to add to the scientific knowledge behind the way lighting professionals light. The better our understanding, the better the way we can design lighting schemes. So back to the research. I have been down to The Royal Hollaway  University of London at Egham to spend quality time inside a Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) Scanner. It is an amazing experience as the scanner clanks away looking at my brain working while I am carrying out a series of visual tasks. The photograph is not one I took, but is a cross section of my brain. I wish the team well in all the calculations and interpreation that has to be done to understand what is going on, especially in my brain!!

I was also a guest of the Highway Electrical association (HEA) at their conference and awards dinner. A well organised event and superb dinner in the spectacular setting of the Celtic Manor Hotel. After the afternoon technical papers, (two presented by ILP past presidents) I took the opportunity to enjoy the view from one of the hotel balcony's. Looking across the river Severn estuary is stunning. Well done to the HEA . Later that night I drove home across the newer of the two Severn crossings, and was inpressed by the quality of lighting and the fantasic engineering of the bridge.

 

Just a quick hobby horse on motorway lighting. I drove the long stretch up the M5 from the M4 towards Birmingham with no lighting, just headlights and being blinded by overbright xenon headlights as other car overtook me. What a joy when I got near to the M42 and some motorway lighting. It is a personal view, but I find driving on lit motorways so much easier and less tiring. Enough said.

 

Next week, the Executive Board will be meeting to discuss a range of issues. This will be the first full meeting for Kevin Grigg - our  New Assistant Honorary Treasurer. He has survived council and an executive board meeting with the Vice Presidents, so we have eased him into the role gently!!

Have a good week

regards

Pete

ps Don't foget Luxlive.

 



Rainbow, VP Highways & Infrastructure and the HEA

It's Saturday morning, and it's  cool and misty with no sign of the sun! It is on these  damp autumnal mornings that I remember warm sunny days. What a difference a bit of sunshine makes. Sadly for some the lack of sunlight can bring on a form of depression. It even has a name - Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).There are two people in my office that use the "bright white" lamps to help alleviate this condition. I really appreciate the sunshine, not just for warmth,but becuase it does affect our moods. Taking photos on a drab overcast day leaves the captured image flat and dull. Add a little sunlight and you get depth, contrast and vivid colours. We certainly try our best to emmulate sunshine with lamps, but we come a poor second. I promised a photo per blog. This is one that I took in New Zealand, on a wild windswept beach near Wellington. It is a rainbow, and it was caused partly by the spray and partly by the weather that was being blown through. Rainbows only happen when you have some sunshine. I guess when Noah saw the rainbow, he was so glad to see the sun again as it shone through the clouds.

Earlier this week, Council met and it is good see the way the VPs and Councillors are working together. It has taken a while, but I do believe that our strategy and vision for the Institution and especially the members is coming together. Just to remind you that there is a new post of VP Highways and Infrastructure and if you want a job description and think you might be interested, then contact Richard@theilp.org.uk   for a job description. I think this final VP role will give the balance we want within the Institution. We have some interseting ideas that I am sure the new VP (when appointed) will be able to progress and develop.

Next week I am going to the HEA Conference and Dinner at Celtic Manor, so I might see some of you there. Interestingly on the way to Wales, I will going to Egham for a MRI brain scan. This is the final peice of volounteer work I am doing with UCL on understanding how our eyes and brain works at low light levels.
Have a good week
Pete