Atlantic Storm Waves Firing Up

This photo from NOAA says it all - a series of tropical waves and depressions are spinning off Africa and heading our way. "Emily" could be the first to form into a hurricane, with others right behind it.

Get prepared and stay tuned!

Tropical Storm Don - Target Texas

Here is our "wake up" call - Tropical Storm "Don" is shooting straight for the Texas coast.

The photo is the projected path as of this hour. It could change in the next day. Hopefully it will not reach full hurricane wind speed.

But it is a reminder that these storms don't give people a lot of time to prepare. What if it were a CAT1 or 3? Do you think you could "board up" in time?

Probably not. That's why it makes more sense to have 24/7 protection that your get from Armor Glass hurricane security film, which also keeps burglars and solar heat at bay in between storms.

Email or Call for a free quote - but don't expect us to install it before "Don" hits this Friday/Saturday (we are already booked!).

To be prepared for a hurricane, you have to "plan ahead" (something they should do in Congress as well!). Get prepared. Be prepared. Or next time you may not be so "lucky."

This is an early start, so worse storms could be possible as we reach the peak of the season in mid-September!

Tropical Storm "DON" Coming Our Way

Just in - Tropical Storm "Don" may be forming in the Gulf of Mexico and is heading towards Texas!

Standby for updates. Are you prepared?

I will NOT be boarding up! I don't have to because I already have Armor Glass hurricane film on my windows! Do you?

Armor Glass Would Have Saved Lives in Oslo Bombing

Here is a picture of me in downtown Oslo BEFORE the blast. I took it in May. The other 2 photos are it today...there are worst photos than these.

My deepest condolences to the Norwegian people.

I was in Oslo two months ago on a vacation. Of the 50 or so countries I'd been in, I'd never been to Norway. Yesterday a car bomb blew out glass in the streets where I walked. Had I waited to now to visit the city, I could have been one of the unfortunate victims killed or injured by flying glass shrapnel.

It would have been ironic because our Armor Glass film is rated for a "Level 2" blast and would have prevented a lot of windows from shattering as it deflected the Oslo blast wave and prevented injuries and death. It's the same film installed on the Pentagon and other DC federal buildings after 9/11 - for that reason. Who knows when the next bomber will strike any city in any country. It would do the same in Houston, New York or cities hit by tornadoes or hurricanes. Glass is the weakest link in every building on this planet.

It's deceptive because when I was in Norway I felt perfectly safe walking the streets of Oslo. Downtown Oslo is so small that you can cover most of it in 10 minutes on foot.

It was (at that time) one of the most relaxing places I have ever been. The people were very friendly, relaxed. Since they are taught English in school they switched into excellent English when they heard me speak.

As I walked about I kept looking at their windows, wondering if they had protection but even I didn't see the threat on its streets.

This horrible act shows that terrorism is not just the domain of Islamic extremists. It is also a threat from any extremist, including the American Timothy McVeigh's and Europe's right wing fundamentalist extremists who call themselves "Christians." Neo-Nazism is on the rise, to the point where Germany last week dug up WWII Nazi Rudoph Hess' body and cremated it. Why? Because his grave-site was becoming a "shrine" to a lot of young neo-Nazi's. Intolerance and violence is on the rise from the extremist right in Europe.

A terrorist is a terrorist, whether they look like Osama bin laden or the tall blond white Norwegian bomber with a twisted mind who is part of a growing Neo-Nazi, Nationalist movement in Europe --and just as dangerous, if not more so, than Al Qaida. The killer was Nordic and even wore a police uniform and called people close to him before opening fire. No one would have done that for someone looking like Osama bin laden.

His car bomb was just as deadly as an Al Qaida car bomb. The Nordic terrorist even pretended to be a farmer -- to get the fertilizer used as the bomb material. It has happened before, the first bombing of the World Trade center in 1993, the Murrah building in Oklahoma City in 1994, and worldwide from Mumbai to Islamabad, London, Madrid, the list grows.

If the shops in downtown Oslo and the government buildings had installed a security-rated film like ours the glass would have been contained in the film instead of hurling thousands of deadly shards flying through the air. We bond it to the frames to give the film an anchor to keep it from blowing out of the frames. It would have stopped flying debris up to Large Missile size (4.5 lb). The 2 minute video on our website show what the film does during an explosion - it looks like a bubble as it stretches, with the black bond material holding it to the frame.

But terrorists aren't the only threat. So is killer HEAT, like the bizarre records we are having.

Yesterday Newark NY hit 108 degrees. NYC hit 104. Cities in the Midwest were 103.

The increased temperatures makes our solar security films vital to keep cool and safe from window breach. It even pays for itself in energy savings. It also saved a lady from a burglar trying to break-in to her house 5 days after we put it on...

Armor Glass® security film protection is a necessity as the world gets hotter and more explosive...But the COOL thing about it is that we've seen it pay for itself in under 3 years!

Check us out at www.ArmorGlass.com. Get a free quote.

What's there to lose (other than your property or your life)?

Where are the Hurricanes? Standby for August...

Impact Weather hurricane experts have done a great short video on "Where are the Hurricanes?"

It shows the activity usually fires up the beginning of August - starting in two weeks! In fact, they have RAISED the number of possible storms by 1 - to 9 with at least 4 expected to be major hurricanes.

Check out their chart - it shows that the season rapidly gets active after August 1. Watch their video at the first link. It's very informative.

Are you prepared? Please don't wait for a storm to call us - it's too late then.

Our Customers Are Out of This World - Godspeed Atlantis

As Atlantis takes its last flight into space, we pay homage to the special work done by NASA and its astronauts in the past 30 years. Its not over yet!

In fact, some of our Armor Glass® customers are "out of this world." Yep. Many NASA's astronauts in the Houston area have picked Armor Glass® security film to secure their homes from solar heat, hurricanes and burglars.

We have installed it in homes for NASA execs who worked on the International Space Station.

But you don't have to be working in space to get Armor Glass®. We've done the same for architects and businesses --from Coca cola to the University of Houston and Rice University, Goodyear, Chase Bank, clothing stores, pharmacies, hospitals, office buildings, etc. It's a long and growing list.

Why? Perhaps it is because our technology is "out of this world" yet the pricing is "down to earth." Our hurricane protection costs a fraction of what shutters do - ten times less! And shutters don't protect from break ins our cut solar heat and dangerous UV rays like our security film does. And unlike heavy plywood, you only install our protection once, and it works 24/7.

Although NASA has closed a chapter, it opens a new one as space exploration will continue even without the shuttle. Much of American technology, including ours, was developed from the science that came out of the space research done by NASA and others.

We look forward to supporting NASA and our "out of this world" customers as they conquer new worlds -- and the solar heat and flying debris from hurricanes and tornadoes of this one -- as this continuing saga moves on to new ventures and opportunities.

Godspeed Atlantis!

30 Year Storm on Saturn

Absolutely FASCINATING - think they might need some Armor Glass (PLUS) protection on Saturn?

"The luminous storm, which may be the gaseous planet's main mechanism for dissipating heat, occurs about once every Saturnian year, the equivalent of about 30 Earth years. The storms, however, do not follow a precise schedule. The latest round, the most intense on record, was first noticed by ground-based professional and amateur astronomers as a bright speck on Saturn's northern hemisphere on Dec. 5, about nine years before schedule. The previous storm occurred in 1990."

"Great White Spots are 10 times larger than normal storms on Saturn and are about 10,000 times stronger than those on Earth. They occur seasonally due to changes in how much sunlight reaches Saturn. Scientists still don't fully understand the interplay between solar energy and Saturn's internal stores in generating these storms."

Hurricanes Heat Up in July - Past Trends

I've linked a great article on hurricane development. Usually they are kicking in by the end of July.

"Since 1950, there have been only five major July hurricanes. That said, three of those major July hurricanes have occurred in the last six seasons."

"The season's first hurricane usually has formed by August 10, but again, in the past 3 years, has formed as soon as the end of June or as late as mid-August."

But don't forget, we'll already had a Tropical Storm "Arlene" form in the Gulf of Mexico - battering Mexico with 15 inches of rain.

"An area that "emerges", if you will, in July is near the Windward Islands, as tropical waves originating in Africa may begin to develop, in earnest.

"The tropical waves coming off of western Africa every 2-4 days are a little better defined than in June, says TWC Hurricane Expert, Dr. Rick Knabb. "That's one reason why we start to look farther east for development in July."

Midwest Gets 100 mph Winds - Hail

The storms whipping the Midwest produced hurricane-force winds up to 100 miles per hour! Not to mention "large hail" which knocks out windows, and tornadoes.

It's obvious that Armor Glass security window film protection is needed to safeguard homes across the U.S., not just in coastal areas.

"The severe weather hit hardest in Illinois, southeastern Wisconsin up into northern Indiana and southern Michigan, according to AccuWeather.com."

"Residents in Tennessee also felt the wrath of severe weather as thunderstorms and high winds rolled across the region on Tuesday striking most intensely in Knoxville.

Thousands remained without power in that east Tennessee city on Wednesday.

Further south in Dallas more than 22,000 customers were without power after storms shattered a rain record set in 1926, the Dallas Morning News reported.

The severe weather is set to continue as high temperatures are expected to reach triple digits in Dallas and other areas of Texas and nearby states in the coming days.

Areas in Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Louisiana, Vermont and New York remain at risk from flooding, and thunderstorms, hail, and strong wind are forecasted across the country, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency."

Armor Glass “Rap” Song…

OK, it's been a HOT summer even before summer and its making everyone crazy so I thought I'd join in. I figured we needed some comic relief.

I'm no rapper and certainly no threat to Jay Z or anyone else (I can't even sing without scaring people), but here goes my attempt at rap.

Armor Glass “Rap” Song…

When da big winds start blowing

and breakin’ the neighbors glass

And you wonder ‘bout protecting your ass

Momma says you got no need to worry

You got that Armor Glass!

When da bad boys are coming down the street

Breaking windows in the heat

They got to be mad they couldn’t get through yours

Armor Glass Just Can’t Be Beat!

And if your head’s frying in the sun

From the solar blast

Just Cool it with Armor Glass!

So when storms are raging, wiping fast,

no need to worry about broken GLASS!

You got protection with Armor Glass!”

The "End"

Don't worry. I'm not about to give up my "day" job to go into rap/songwriting! lol