What’s Really Cracking DeVry’s Windows?
Decatur Metro | June 10, 2009 | 10:31 am
Rus sends in this pic of the latest crack to appear in the dreadfully noisy DeVry/1 West Courthouse Square building and notes…
Wonder how that could have happened? humm.. let’s see: There are no birds downtown anymore, especially no larger birds that could crack a window and the break is in very unlikely place for a bird strike.
Could it be that my source from the city was right after all and the cracked windows are caused by structural settling and not birds at all?
Can we please turn the recordings off now?!
Agreed. Enough is enough. Let’s get to the bottom of this once and for all.
First step…The last time we discussed these recordings a year ago, Carl reported this…
I addressed the City Commission on this issue tonight and learned that in fact no permit has been issued and no decibel tests have been conducted. Commissioner Kemp questioned how the building has been operating for over 40 years without this noisemaker. Ms. Merriss agreed to have the noise levels measured and see what can be done to address this situation.
So first question is, were the noise levels ever measured?
An 8th grader invented window decals to prevent birds from running into buildings:
http://is.gd/Xfh0
“This paint is a colour that birds can see but humans can’t,” he said Wednesday on CBC Radio’s All in a Day. “It’s like putting a big stop sign in the middle of the window.”
Seems like infinitely less obnoxious fix to this “problem.”
Wow– I’m so impressed with this kid’s ingenuity! I wish I’d known about this material sooner, so the beautiful little woodpecker that crashed against the big picture window in the back of our house might’ve been saved. How wonderfully simple, yet practical!
I wonder how many city councils know about this material? Seems like it would be a less expensive (not to mention a much quieter) option to use than the faux chirping we have now…
I was downtown about 10 days ago walking around with a friend visiting from out of town. We were both kind of startled by the sounds emanating from the building. It had the intended effect – we left the area rather quickly.
… it would be funny if it weren’t so darn asinine. right in the middle of our cool little town, too…
Actually, the more I look at that crack the more it seems to be an intentional furthering of their war against birds. It looks just like a rather formidable Foghorn Leghorn, doesn’t it??
These people have lost their minds
It’s probably related to zombies somehow.
Oh great, now they will probably have to pipe in predatory zombie sounds in order to keep the banshees and whatnot from flying into the windows.
It looks pretty clear that the DeVry ‘chevron’ logo is sharper than the designer intended.
I’m staying at a friend’s largely glass-walled home in NY at the moment, and she affixed simple spiderweb-looking static clings to each of her windows after some earlier issues with bird collisions (none fatal). Guess what? Issues resolved. They don’t seem to have their own website, but here’s how they look: http://www.duncraft.com/Warning-Web-2-Bird-Window-Strike-Decals-Prevent-Window-Collisions-P2213C227.aspx (just one example)
I have worked in this building for 18 months now at the Art Institute. For the life of me, I’ve never noticed the noise that is mentioned here either when I’m walking to and from work or stepping outside during the day. Students have never mentioned this either. Have I grown so accustomed to it that I don’t notice it? I’m beginning to wonder if my ears are bad. Is it really that unpleasant?