Boiler Geekery & an Evening in Providence

I spent Wednesday and Thursday this week at a class in Warwick, RI run by a high-end German boiler manufacturer. They make incredibly high quality, high reliability (and commensurately high price) equipment--basically, German-level engineering does boilers (If Porsche made boilers, this is what they would be like). Just check out their headquarters--they built the same identical building seven times around the world--all white interiors, same plan, even with the same abstract paintings on the same spots on the walls.


They make high efficiency boilers, conventional boilers (up to big apartment building size units), and solar hot water panels. They actually have a bigger product line internationally (solar electric/PV panels, refrigerators, etc.), but the boiler market in the United States is small enough (~7% of the market--the rest is forced hot air furnaces) that they don't bother bringing in their full line. Also, they make some products specifically for the American market--typically lower price point items. But there are many things that I can imagine the German engineers scratching their heads, asking, "Why would you want to do that?" (much like the line about when German engineers were asked to put cupholders in their cars: "You are driving. Why would you want to be drinking coffee?" For those who don't know, Germans actually pay attention when they drive--thus they can have 100 mph speeds on the Autobahn without huge numbers of accidents).

The class was actually free--I only had to make a reservation--and they treated us to meals, and put us up in a hotel. It seems like a lot of money to throw into training, but I figure that they sell a top-of-the-line product, with a much higher cost. Therefore, the only way people will specify or buy their equipment is if they are trained and know what the advantages are.

But they did live demos in their boiler showroom--which was the most gorgeous boiler room that I have ever seen:


As my boss ribbed me, "Some folks have the ambition to get their picture taken with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Other folks...." Well, yeah...

I got away for one evening to see Providence, after dinner. I parked the car, and wandered up and down near the river, and then towards the arts district (Westminster street, I believe).


I passed by RISD's campus--I definitely have to go back there sometime to see their museum, and other parts of campus.


The RISD museum has an outdoor sculpture area; the picture above is
Jonathan Bonner's sculpture Mirth; one that makes you smile with its whimsey (the link has more images). His other work provides a similar type of amusement--check out this one, where he superimposes a big dotted line on the outside elevation of a wall.

After more wandering up and down streets, I ended up at a local bar where there were four guitarists playing. I sat at the end of the bar, ordered up a drink, and spent a few hours just listening to music and contemplating life. I tried to decide, as I was sipping my martini, whether my evening was a bit pathetic ("... I'm sitting here by myself, at age 38, in a bar filled with hip out-for-a-weeknight twentysomethings, listening to their friends' band..") or not ("... but then again, at least I'm not back at the Courtyard Marriott watching TV...").

Anyway, I definitely need to schedule another trip down there sometime--it seems like a city worth exploring and hanging out in. Anybody up for Gallery Night Providence? (open door gallery tour with free shuttle buses, third Thursday of every month). Looks like it runs through November.