Sunday at IMTS 2012 - Cars, Motorcycle and Helicopter at IMTS 2012

Below is a new Fisker Karma.  A beautiful automobile.

Below is an amazing 1910 Packard.  This is a $1million car.

I got INCREDIBLY lucky because the owner let me sit in the car.  No ONE was allowed to sit in the car.  I think he knew I was a car guy and I REALLY appreciated it!

 Below are four photos of a great 1969 Pontiac Firebird.

The Corvette C6R race car.

A custom chopper above.

And, of course a helicopter above.

Below is me in front of the IMTS Rally Fighter car that was built at IMTS 2012.

Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise

I am in Chicago for IMTS 2012 and when my room was not ready, I decided to go for a long walk since it was a picture perfect day in Chicago.  I went to on a Chicago Architecture Foundation River Cruise.  If you are in Chicago, this is a must.  The last time I did this was in 2000 with my wife and Alice Eelman.  We came out here to see what Peter Eelman runs which is IMTS.  This is my fifth IMTS (2000, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012).   I am absolute rookie though as a number of AMT employees have been coming to IMTS since 1972.  

The Amazing Video On "What Is A Flame?"

This is a GREAT video and shows just how hard it truly is to explain a complicated topic in a way that an 11 year old can understand it.   This was a contest Alan Alda came up with.   Here is the link to the Flame Challenge.

Below is the video.

MTConnect® Institute [MC]2 2013 Conference Save the Date and Call for Abstracts

This press release went out today.

For Immediate Release: August 29, 2012
Contact: Dave Edstrom MTConnect® Institute 

dedstrom@MTConnect.org

MTConnect® Institute [MC]2 2013 Conference Save the Date and Call for Abstracts


McLean, Va. ... Today, August 29, 2012, the MTConnect® Institute formally announced [MC]2 2013 MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference that will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Hyatt Regency on April 10-11, 2013, and the official call for abstracts. MTConnect is the communications and interconnectivity standard that is allowing manufacturing shops and plants to save both time and money because, for the first time, they can easily retrieve and monitor data off the shop floor to improve productivity.

[MC]2 2013 is the conference for all things MTConnect and a must-attend for those who want to understand how this game-changing standard is revolutionizing manufacturing. MTConnect is a set of open, royalty-free standards intended to foster greater interoperability between controls, devices and software applications by publishing data over networks using the Internet Protocol. MTConnect is a basic first step in linking shop floor technologies and moving toward the goal of seamless manufacturing operations. By establishing an open and extensible channel of communication for plug-and-play interconnectivity between devices, equipment and systems, MTConnect allows sources to exchange and understand each other's data.

This is the second MTConnect conference. The first was held in November 2011 and was a tremendous success with 175 attendees who participated in business and technical sessions, hands-on labs, panel sessions and demonstrations. There were also 26 exhibitors showing their applications that utilize the MTConnect standard. [MC]2 2013 will build on the tremendous success of the first MTConnect conference with a greater emphasis on shop owners and plant managers.

Joel Neidig, Technology Manager for ITAMCO, has stated, “[MC]2 2011 displayed the latest in manufacturing technology interconnectivity and what is to come in the future. [MC]2 2013 is a must-attend.”

Mark Conley, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Manager for RTI-Remmele stated, "RTI-Remmele has been a great supporter of MTConnect since the very beginning. The first [MC]2 conference was excellent and I would highly recommend those shop owners and plant managers to attend [MC]2 2013. This conference is also a great place for vendors to show off their MTConnect products and services."

David McPhail, President & CEO of Memex Automation and Astrix Networks, stated,   "The [MC]2 MTConnect Connecting Manufacturing Conference in 2011 was a great investment for Memex Automation because not only was the conference excellent, but as an exhibitor we had a chance to meet with those companies and organizations that are looking to improve productivity through the MTConnect standard. We look forward to being part of [MC]2 2013."

[MC]2 2013 Call For Abstract Submission Instructions
Please use the format below as a template for your abstract submission.

Name: 
Job Title: 
Organization: 
Categories (please select the appropriate category):

• Business Session
• Panel Session
• Technical Session
• Hands-on Software Lab
• Demonstration Session

Title: Presenter(s): Who is the target audience?:

What will be the top three takeaways from attending your session or lab     Description – two to three paragraphs

Important Dates To Remember

• October 1, 2012: Abstracts due 
• November 12, 2012: Speakers notified

Submissions or Questions

Please send submissions or any questions to both dedstrom@MTConnect.organd PWarndorf@AMTonline.org.

To learn more about [MC]2 2013, please go to MTConnectConference.org today!

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MTConnect® Institute is an organization that develops and provides open standards intended to foster greater interoperability between manufacturing controls, devices and software applications by publishing data over networks using the Internet Protocol (IP). The standards offer a solution to the exchange of data from shop floor devices to higher-level systems. MTConnect.org is the location for information on MTConnect the standard, educational articles, training and MTConnect enabled products. MTConnectForum.com is the site for questions and answers on all things MTConnect.
###

God Bless Mary Jane Cunningham Smith

Julie and I went up in Orchard Park to attend the funeral of Julie's aunt Mary Jane Cunningham Smith on Thursday the 23rd of August. She passed on July 26th, 2012.   Mary Jane and Julie's mom, Barbara, were sisters.  Julie's mom passed away in 1994.

 It was a very nice memorial.  She was quite the lady and a well known philanthropist and it was amazing to hear one story after another about how much she gave to the community, family, friends and everyone she touched over the years.  The weather could not have been any nicer.  It was quite evident how much Mary Jane and her late husband, Graham, gave to the community and others at the memorial reception that was held at the Orchard Park Country Club after the memorial service.

After the memorial reception, we went back to Mary Jane's house and sat on the porch with George Smith, who is Mary Jane's son, George's wife Janet, Liza Morehouse, who is Mary Jane's daughter, Liza's husband Sky as well as the grandchildren of Mary Jane, Graham, Bennett, Caroline, Luke and Emma.

Julie and I were fortunate enough to be in Canada in June and got together with Mary Jane and Liza at Mary Jane's house and we went out for dinner.  It was a lovely evening and just very nice to spend time with Mary Jane and Liza.

Below is Julie, Mary Jane and Liza when we visited there back in June of this year.

Corvettes at Carlisle With Mr. John Meyer

I love going to Corvettes at Carlisle, but the only problem are the "Meyer Corvette Girls" or "MCGs" as they are known in Carlisle, PA.  They follow John around the entire time and it makes it difficult to see the Corvettes, but I have grown used to it over the years :-)   Next year will be very interesting with the introduction of the C7 Corvette at the Detroit Auto Show in early 2013.

This is the year of John's 50th birthday and this was also the 50 year anniversary of the 1962 Corvette.  Below is John in the 1962 50 Year Anniversary Tent that was also known as the "Happy 50th Birthday John Meyer Tent" by the MCGs.

Below is John and me in front of the C6R.

Black and red are classic Corvette color combinations.

Above is the C6R Corvette race car.

Above is the clear opening showing the supercharger on the 638hp ZR1 $125,000 Corvette.

Below is a movie of the ZR1 cutaway which I think is very cool.

Above and below is the famous #3 Corvette. 

Above is a 1961 Candy Apple Red Corvette.  Below are custom seats made of REAL STINGRAY skin in the middle!

Below are three cutaways of the ZR1.

Tim's First Day at JMU

We went out as a family to one of Tim's favorite restaurants Kobe's in Leesburg.

John, Tim and Michael above

Below is Tim very happy to LEAVE Ashburn.

We took Tim to James Madison University (JMU) this past Tuesday.  Below Tim is THRILLED that mom and dad are driving him onto JMU's campus! :-)

We ate at Five Guys for lunch.

Above is JMU's main building with the bluestone rock.

I have seen prisoners on death row who looked happier than Tim in his new dorm room.  Julie said he was just sick of us and wanted us the hell out of there.

Above is Tim in front of Gifford Hall which is his dorm.