MICHAEL R WEEKES

Recent Actions

• Posted Looking for Dome Home Site in WNY to Buffalo Rising
  After a recent YouTube search on "tiny home" building methodologies, I came across a terrific site cataloging the 11-step design and construction of a 24' diameter geodesic greenhouse.  The story was enthralling for so many reasons: the affordability, relatively short build cycle, the plethora of knowledge capital available and then, best of all, it led me to learn of the godfather of geodesic design, R Buckminster Fuller.Bucky, as he was called, was a dear friend and colleague of retired UB Professor of Architecture, Harold Cohen.  I met Harold first in 1987, as part of research for a NYS Visitor...
• Posted Buffalo Trolley and Canal Boat Company to Buffalo Rising
  By Michael R Weekes - UB BSIE 1984:At the end of the summer season I was chatting with the operator of The Hatch Restaurant, who runs Brand-On Services.  He mentioned that parking and congestion were really becoming a challenge.  I think anyone who comes down to the waterfront on the evening of a major event understands this issue first hand. I realize that there are more than 10,000 parking spaces in downtown, but it can be a long walk to Canalside or Erie Basin Marina, especially for the elderly and families with young children in tow.  I don't mind the walk from...
• Posted New Bills Film Highlights Magical Evening to Buffalo Rising
  It was one for the ages.  Friday night I attended the screening of the locally produced documentary film, Almost a Dynasty, written, directed and produced by real live Buffalonians: Phil Gangi, Peter Tasca and Stephen Butler.This was like no other film, no other evening, no other moment in Buffalo, ever!  We all dream of telling our treasured stories on the big screen and having our friends and families and fellow fans come to join us at a real theater, to bask in the moments and memories, but we'll likely never realize that dream. Well, Phil and Peter and all scores of...
• Posted Thank You, Rich Family! to Buffalo Rising
  When I grew up on Buffalo's gritty East Side, the word "rich" was a dirty four letter word.  I was not poor or needy, but my parents taught me to look down on those with money, privilege and all that comes with it.  It was a subtle suggestion, like most prejudice, not as deliberate as it was subconscious.  I struggled later, after receiving a scholarship to Canisius High School, where my scholarship to a Jesuit top-flight education was distracted occasionally by the spoiled, complacent children of some of Buffalo's wealthiest families (who forgot the hardworking, good values and tireless effort of...
• Posted The BPO - A Shining Example of World Class Excellence in Buffalo to Buffalo Rising
  This article is part of a series of Business Performance Excellence in Western New York articles by Michael R Weekes, President, Whataboutquality.com.When we think of business performance our minds might drift toward manufacturing, given our WNY legacy of making things.  It's easier to see whether a manufacturer is running a lean operation, by how much inventory they have built up on the floor or whether there is a flow in the process.  It's very tangible to see how many errors or defects they have in the process by looking at the end of the line and measuring how much rework or scrap...
• Commented on Sabres and Ellicott Development Face Off for Webster Block
  ok, I cam home in 2009, have now moved into the lafayette, so my investment is personal and business - my proposal Fandemoneum Restuarant / Museum - - presented to Benderson with positive response - here is my video -...
• Commented on Sabres and Ellicott Development Face Off for Webster Block
  lets walk before we can run Jeff Nixon of the Bills likes Fandemoneum - a restaurant at the foot of the One Canalside / Donovan Building.. watch the video and see for yourself, then donate your memorabilia (on loan) Great...
• Commented on Mike Weekes Plans on Building (and Living on) a Canal Boat
  The canal boat project is mutually exclusive. The dory is a 80 hour boat built in 4 hours and it worked. As an engineer we broke all the rules. For the price of a one day boat rental we got...
• Commented on Mike Weekes Plans on Building (and Living on) a Canal Boat
  The canal boat project is mutually exclusive. The dory is a 80 hour boat built in 4 hours and it worked. As an engineer we broke all the rules. For the price of a one day boat rental we got...
• Posted "Big Buffalo Return" - Bryan and Ashley to Buffalo Rising
  As we sat at Spot on Elmwood on a snowy Saturday morning for this interview, all of us noticed a recent edition of Artvoice with a cover picture taken by their mutual friend Christina Shaw.  There were two remarkable aspects to this fact: 1) Christina was there when Bryan and Ashley began dating in NYC and 2) the picture featured Joseph Thomas, Sr. who I would be interviewing weeks later for a Fandemoneum Sports Museum piece. We are truly all connected to each other here! It was yet another unavoidable piece of objective evidence that Buffalo literally has 1.5 degrees of...
• Posted Repat seeks guidance, ideas and lessons learned on West Side for low carbon footprint home to Buffalo Rising
  I'm Michael Weekes, Buffalo Rising Online contributor, and I want to build an exciting new home on the West Side, turning a vacant lot or two into a metaphor for a new sustainable life in Buffalo. After researching designs from companies including Flatpak, EcoSteel, Kieren Timberlake, PowerHouse, Blu Homes, Bluesky homes, Method Homes and Kaufmann, it's time to find a site and work on the approval to execute a home that's good for the earth as well as the soul. If you know of local individuals, organizations or agencies to help take this idea and make it a reality (for an individual)...
• Posted Series - Welcome Back to Buffalo Delia - "Somewhere Deep Inside, I knew I would Always Return to Buffalo" to Buffalo Rising
  Delia returned to the Buffalo area after nineteen years in Phoenix, Arizona not long after 9/11.  After having children, she thought it would be better to be here, among her family.  She knew she would always return.Extremely proud of her 100% Italian heritage, both Delia's father and paternal grandparents came to America on Christmas Eve, 1929 through Ellis Island.  She considers her Italian roots to be a huge part of her identity.A technical instructor for a Fortune 100 company, Delia was originally destined to follow in her family profession of teaching but did not look forward to wrangling scores of...
• Posted SERIES - Welcome Back to Buffalo Jen & Tyrone - A Place Where Your Kids Can Still Play Outside! to Buffalo Rising
  For Jen, leaving the Buffalo area could not come soon enough after graduating from college.  She moved to Florida in 2004 but soon found out that climate was not nearly as important as a sense of community, pace and vitality of life or simply, a change in seasons.Christmas especially could not be the same without the snow, the neighborhoods, visiting from home to home, decorated with twinkling lights.She left the sunshine state for Washington, DC where she took a job with the government.  There too, over a three year stint, she was not able to find the easy-going friends and...
• Posted Welcome Back To Buffalo: What's Your Story? to Buffalo Rising
  We all know someone who has returned to Buffalo, to stay, after a life somewhere else.In November, 2009 my own return to Buffalo, was not so much as part of a strategy, but more like a son returning to his home in the face of an economic downturn, with the hope and dream of a purposeful reconnection. I was fortunate enough to find work which matched my skills as a facilitator in business improvement and a meaningful initiative for my free time that contributes to a continued Buffalo economic recovery.  I thank my lucky stars!  I found my purpose. Through connecting with...