CAD '12 Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario

Thanks to Dave McPhail, President of Memex Automation, I was invited to speak at CAD '12.

Above is Dr. Alan Spence of McMaster University and chair of CAD '12 giving me a plaque for giving a keynote.   I gave a talk titled, "How An Open Protocol Is Changing Manufacturing"

Al was a great host and I really enjoyed the CAD '12 Conference.  We had a fantastic dinner overlooking Niagara Falls with the other speakers.  Julie and I were able to sit with Dave McPhail and his wife Pauline, which was great.

Above is Dave McPhail who is giving the keynote before me and discussing the importance of monitoring.  Dave and Memex have been HUGE supporters of MTConnect.  Dave was co-chair of the most popular white paper we have at the MTConnect Institute - which is Getting Started With MTConnect: Connectivity Guide. 

Dave invited me to Memex's Headquarters and they put together a very nice welcome sign.  John Rattray, VP of Sales and Marketing for Memex, gave me a great demonstration of their products.  Dave took me around, showed me their manufacturing operations, software developers and their marketing as well as sales staff.   I also had the opportunity to speak with the entire Memex staff at Headquarters regarding MTConnect.  It was very much appreciated and I really learned a lot.  Thanks John and Dave!

Please notice the MTConnect on Memex's boards above!  Very cool!

The photo below was from our hotel room.  We had the 24th floor at the Marriott.  Best view ever!   Julie came along on this trip and we extended thanks to John Rattray's suggestion.  Great suggestion John!

Julie and I in front of Niagara Falls on the Canada side. 

Above is a movie from the "Behind The Falls" section of Niagara Falls.

We found three Subaru BRZ's in Niagara Falls.  These cars are getting incredible reviews.

Above is me in front of the location where Buffalo Wings were invented - The Anchor Bar.

Below is Julie, Julie's Aunt Mary Jane and Julie's cousin Liza Morehouse in Orchard Park.   This is my first time at Mary Jane's house.  We went out to dinner and had a fantastic time.  You can not find two nicer ladies on planet earth than Mary Jane Smith and Liza.

Amazing rainbows at Niagara Falls.

Julie and me in front of Niagara Falls

We had 6th row center seats for Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band. A GREAT concert at the Casino in Niagara Falls.  Below is Todd Rundgren.  The members included:  Steve Lukather (Toto), Gregg Rolie (Journey, Santana), Richard Page (Mr. Mister), Todd Rundgren, Mark Rivera and Gregg Bissonette

We just happened to be there for the first ever high wire walk over Niagara Falls by Nik Wallenda.  We saw this from our hotel room.

Below is Niagara on the Lake where we visited on our way to Toronto.  Dave McPhail suggested we check this town out and it was great!