Happy pi Day - 3.14.15

As stated at www.piday.org/:

"Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.
Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi’"

Going For A Ride In "Strati" The World's First 3D Printed Car With Jay Rogers of Local Motors

I was attending Manufacturing For Growth (MFG) Conference which is run by AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) and the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) where I had a chance to speak with Jay Rogers, CEO and Co-Founder of Local Motors, after his closing keynote.  Jay and I met a few years back when he spoke at another AMT event.

Jay gave a great  closing keynote to the five day conference titled, "Welcome to the Third Industrial Revolution –Local Motors and the 3D-Printed Car".  Jay quoted Sun Microsystems co-founder and computer science legend (known as the Edison of the Internet) Bill Joy in his talk - which I was very impressed that .  I wrote about Bill Joy's famous quote that Jay referred to, "not all the smart people work for you" four years ago for AMT's IMTS Insider and also posted that article to my blog.  During the question and answer section I asked Jay a question regarding Elon Musk's stance on patents.  He gave a very clear and compelling answer that I fully agreed with. My view on patents has been expressed a number of times in this blog with the latest being a year ago on patent trolls.

Below is Jay and me standing in front of Strati - the world's first 3D printed car which was created by Jay and Local Motors and brought to Orlando, Florida to be at the MFG Conference.

Below is Jay giving me a ride in the world's first 3D printed car!

1.25 Million Share-options Issued to Senior Management Team

February 25, 2015   Press Releases

Burlington, ON, Canada – February 25, 2015 – Astrix Networks Inc. (“Astrix”), operating as Memex Automation (“Memex”) (TSX-V: OEE), the global leader of manufacturing M2M productivity software, approved at its last Board Meeting, February 23, 2015, the granting of a total of 1.25 million share options to its five member senior management team, 250,000 to each member.  The share options are exercisable at a price of $0.15 per share and vest over the next three years, with half vesting on February 23, 2017 and the remaining half vesting on February 23, 2018. The share options expire on February 23, 2020.

About Memex Automation:

Astrix Networks Inc., (TSX-V:OEE), provides award-winning software to measure Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in real-time. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE metrics for each machine in every plant. MERLIN is used by leading machine tool companies as a complete shop floor communications platform.  For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

Media Contacts

Leanne Rattray, Communications Specialist
Phone: 905-635-1540 ext. 103
Email: leanne.rattray@memex.ca

David McPhail, CEO
Phone: 519-993-1114
Email: david.mcphail@memex.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release

To see the full press release, please click here.

Astrix Surpasses $500,000 in Sales for its First Quarter of Fiscal 2015

February 26, 2015   Press Releases

Burlington, ON, Canada – February 26, 2015 – Astrix Networks Inc. (“Astrix”), operating as Memex Automation (“Memex”) (TSX-V: OEE), the global leader of manufacturing M2M productivity software, released its financial results and operational highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.

For the first time in its history, Astrix surpassed the half-million dollar mark in quarterly sales with a total of $501,178 for the latest period, ended December 31, 2014.  This compares with total sales of $207,000 in the prior quarter, and $157,000 in the same quarter of the prior year, increases of 142% and 219% respectively.  The company also saw its highest quarterly gross margin since inception at $334,000.

Company President, David McPhail, provides comment on Astrix achieving this milestone. “We are pleased with the increase in the customer adoption rate of our technology, reflected in the Q1-2015 sales numbers. Revenues include new MERLIN customers as well as additional follow on revenue from our existing MERLIN customers. Total revenue for the quarter just completed is the highest Astrix has experienced thus far.”

About Memex Automation:

Astrix Networks Inc., (TSX-V:OEE), provides award-winning software to measure Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (“OEE”) in real-time. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE metrics for each machine in every plant. MERLIN is used by leading machine tool companies as a complete shop floor communications platform.  For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.

Media Contacts
Leanne Rattray, Communications Specialist
Phone: 905-635-1540 ext. 103
Email: leanne.rattray@memex.ca
David McPhail, CEO
Phone: 519-993-1114
Email: david.mcphail@memex.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To see the full press release, please click here.

Hillary Clinton's Email

If this is true that Hillary Clinton was using a private email for official government business then this should disqualify her for any future offices.  There are thousands of reasons why this is a very bad idea and I can't think of one good one unless the US Government is incapable of running a secure email system - which I find impossible to believe.

Now my republican friends should be happy that I busted on a democrat in my blog :-)

Rudy Guiliani's IDIOTIC Comment on President Obama

When someone like Rudy Guiliani goes after President Obama with an incredibly stupid comment such as:

"I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America," Giuliani said, according to Politico. "He doesn't love you. And he doesn't love me. He wasn't brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country." 

Then you need to look no further than either The Daily Show With Jon Stewart or The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore to appreciate just how TRULY IDIOTIC a comment that it is.

Below is Jon Stewart ripping that idiotic comment apart:

The Daily Show

Daily Show Full Episodes,  More Daily Show Videos,  Comedy Central Full Episodes

Here is Larry Wilmore going after that idiotic comment.

1966 Christmas Gift To My Parents

I was at my parents when they were having a stair lift installed and I saw this ashtray upstairs. This is what you made for your parents for Christmas if you were 7 years old in 1966.  I think the teacher had all of us make ashtrays for their parents.  I laughed when I saw this. Could you imagine a teacher in 2015 suggesting that EVERY 2nd grader should make their parents ashtrays? It would likely make national news :-)

You can barely see the 12/66 on the bottom of the ashtray.

FBI Director James Comey Brave Talk on Race and Law Enforcement

This is the bravest speech on race and law enforcement I have ever heard -- and it came from FBI Director James Comey at Georgetown University.  Director Comey became a hero to me and many when he stood up to (as stated in the Washington Post on May 16th, 2007,  "White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales and President Bush's chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., were on their way to the hospital to persuade Ashcroft to reauthorize Bush's domestic surveillance program, which the Justice Department had just determined was illegal."

Weekend With The Groundwater's in Breckenridge

Julie and I spent Saturday and Sunday in Breckenridge with Neil and Beth Groundwater - flying back on Monday.  We had a wonderful time!  Thanks to Neil and Beth for a great weekend as well as they picked us up and dropped us from DIA. Thanks for picking us up and dropping us off at the Denver airport as well.

Above are the great views of the Rockies as we drove in.

Below is Julie and I at the Continental Divide.

I was interested in actually walking into a pot store to see what it looked like.  NO, I did not buy or try anything.  They do ID you and you must be 21 to enter. It's a real money maker for the town and the state apparently.  Neil told a great story about being at a local event where a policeman walked up to a young man and said, "excuse me sir, I think you dropped your bag of pot."  It does not appear to be a big deal to the citizens in Breckenridge.  A challenge is that all business is cash only including paying their employees as well as taxes.  In addition, the pot that is candy form can be confusing for some people - see Maureen Dowd's experience with a THC candy bar she THOUGHT was just a regular candy bar.   The pot stores are sort of like to going to the ABC store for some folks.  It should be interesting to see what other states do in this area - especially those states with revenue shortfalls. 

Below we are at Keystone getting red to head up for lunch.

Below are the four of us at the top of Keystone before we had a very nice brunch at Alpenglow Stube Restaurant.

Above we are at The Outpost at Keystone in front of the fireplace on top of the mountain.

Below we had a very nice brunch at Alpenglow Stube Restaurant.  From left to right is Beth, Neil, me and Julie.

Below is a video tour of the Alpenglow Stube Restaurant.

Below is a card from a Jacquard loom that Neil gave me - very cool!

Below is a snowcat for grooming the slopes at night.

Sunday night Neil and I hit a few bars in Breckenridge while the ladies hit the hot tub.

We had a FANTASTIC time!  Thanks Neil and Beth!

Will There Be A Pro-Science and Pro-Data Republican Who Runs For President?

After reading Richard Cohen's great article titled, "Walker's inartful dodge - The governor should have answered a question on evolution", I continue to be absolutely amazed how in 2015 we can have "presidential candidates" who do not believe in science or data! How is this possible? Well, we all know how it is possible.  The republicans have to play to their pro-religion and anti-science base that's why.  It is no more complicated then that.

As Richard Cohen so eloquently stated when talking about Walker, "My faux conservative heart sank. My pretend hero is either an ignoramus or a coward. It is simply not possible to contest evolution, since it is the basis of all the biological sciences. The issue is closed, not debatable, and while I am obliged to say something nice about those who prefer the biblical story of creation, I have to point out that countless people somehow manage a practical synthesis and believe in both — evolution and religion. It can be done."

Cohen then discusses Governor Christie, "The once-courageous Chris Christie had also visited the British capital on yet another trade mission — New Jersey exports tomatoes and attitude — when he was asked about whether kids should be required to get the measles vaccine."

Mr. Cohen continued in his article below:

"My God, what a tough question! The governor who chased people off the beach before Superstorm Sandy and whose aides put a full nelson on the George Washington Bridge said the choice should be left to the parents. Why? On account of their medical/scientific knowledge? On account of something they had once seen on “Oprah” or “Larry King Live” where Jenny McCarthy inveighed against vaccines? No. The answer was clear: pander. The self-styled Pander Slayer was pandering to his supposed base in yonder Iowa."

Someday my grandchildren will ask me WHY my generation screwed up the planet so badly.  My response will be, "you're right, it was MY generation that screwed things up because religion beat out science for topics that were 100% about science." 

Thanks Mr. Cohen!

What am I doing about it?  Writing blog posts and ripping people new a$$holes when they start talking complete crap like this.  This is just as stupid as saying the sun rotates around the earth...

Harley Earl and Steve Jobs - Great Article at CNN

Thom Patterson writes a great article at CNN titled:

Steve Jobs and the king of stylish cars

Below is a snippet from the article talking about what Harley Earl created:

"During his heyday spanning the 1930s to the late '50s, Earl created innovations that were decades ahead of their time:

-Rear backup cameras connected to dashboard video

-An automated driving system

-Collision warning alarms

-Cruise control

-Keyless entry

-Onboard computers

-Rain-sensing technology

Earl was the first, say experts, to meld car style with functionality — kind of like what Apple's Steve Jobs did with personal computers."

Mr. Patterson ends with:

"So why ISN'T Harley Earl a household name? Should he be?

For a lot of people who aren't enthusiasts, it's not particularly important who designed the car," Gross said. "I don't know that anyone is going to erect a statue to Harley Earl, but I think it's important that he's remembered. There really isn't anybody today in the design industry that has the impact and the clout, the presence and the profile that Harley Earl had in his day. ... But Harley had a unique set of circumstances. He was The Man."

Yes, Harley Earl was THE man...

Scott McNealy Talking About Open Source

Below is Scott McNealy, former co-founder, President and CEO of Sun Microsystems, giving a great talk at POSSCON 2012 that I just stumbled upon because I was thinking about the fact that it has been five years since Oracle purchased Sun.. This is very interesting because Scott gives an open source history lesson and what is needed now. I have been and will always be a HUGE fan of Scott McNealy.  I also cannot thank Scott enough for writing the foreword for my book, MTConnect: To Measure Is To Know (along with Dr. Dave Patterson of University of California at Berkeley). Enjoy this hour long talk...

The DC Auto Show in 2015 - Corvette Z06 and Stingray

Julie and I attended the DC Auto Show two weeks ago today.  I finally got around to put the photos in.  As you can see, we spent most of our time looking at Corvette Stringrays :-)

Below are four photos of the absolutely amazing supercar the Corvette Z06.  Zero to sixty in 2.95 seconds starting at a very reasonable $79,000.

Below are three photos of me appearing pretty happy in a Corvette Stingray :-)

Thanks Pastor Qualley 29 Years at Lord of Life Church

This past Sunday was Pastor Ron Qualley's last service at Lord of Life Church in Fairfax, VA.  Pastor Qualley took over for Pastor Ron Christian 29 years ago.  Pastor Christian married Julie and me in 1983. Taking over for Pastor Christian who founded the church in Fairfax was a real challenge with some big shoes to fill.

Pastor Qualley took the church to new levels by building a new church in Fairfax as well as building another church in Clifton. More importantly than that was he was always there for the many members of our church and specifically the Edstrom family. He was always there when a relative died, someone had surgery or any of the typical life challenges that happen.

Pastor Qualley did the funeral services for Julie's father, mother and grandmother at Lord of Life.  None of them were members of the church but Pastor Qualley did not hesitate when I asked him if he would do the services.

Pastor Qualley baptized and confirmed our sons John, Michael and Tim. He will be there to marry our oldest son John and his fiancee Janet in May of this year.

I can't thank Pastor Qualley enough for everything that he has done for our family.

Below is a photo of Pastor Qualley at his last Christmas service and below that is a photo of Pastor Qualley with his wife Sandi at the last service this past Sunday.

The 3 M's of Manufacturing - Manufacturing, MTConnect and Massive Data at McMaster University

I was privileged to be invited by Dr. Allan Spence of the Mechanical Engineering Department at McMaster University to give a presentation last week.  It is always fun for me to speak to students and faculty.  I first met Dr. Spence when I spoke at CAD '12 in Niagara Falls Canada in the summer of 2013.

I was given a tour of the Mechanical Engineering Department and I was very impressed!

Here was the description of my 45 minute presentation: The talk will discuss the history of MTConnect and its importance in global manufacturing with specific emphasis on analyzing massive amounts of data. The world of manufacturing has never been as dynamic and exciting with a plethora of hot technologies and concepts from 3D printers, M2M, Industry 4.0 to IoT with companies like Cisco stating that their number one business segment is manufacturing. Why all the excitement and where are the opportunities for students at universities such McMaster University going to be in the near future?

Below is my title slide.

Below is Dr. Spence and I standing together in front of Memex Automation's office in Burlington, Ontario.  Note that Astrix Networks is the parent company to Memex. Dr. Spence gave me a very nice McMaster desk clock and I gave Dr. Spence a signed copy of my book.  He stopped by the office after the talk which I thought was extremely nice.

I gave away free copies of my book, MTConnect: To Measure Is To Know, to the attendees and I hope they enjoy it.

When I landed in Toronto it was -2 Fahrenheit and with the 30mph wind it was 29 below.  Below is a view from the plane when I landed and the Jeep I rented.

Goodbye Ashburn Tokyo Sushi - GREAT Sushi Restaurant

We found out yesterday morning that our all-time favorite Sushi restaurant, Tokyo Sushi in Ashburn was closing that night.  We found out from our middle son Michael who frequents there quite a bit with his friends. Our oldest John was a regular there when he lived in the Ashburn area and our youngest son Tim was just starting to appreciate really good sushi. We went there to thank them for many years of good food and we had a $50 gift certificate we did not want to see go to waste. It was the most crowded Julie and I had ever seen Tokyo Sushi.  We took some photos and looked up at the photo they took of Julie and me on one of my birthdays.  It was a sad night and proves just how hard it is to make money in the restaurant business.

 Above is a photo from the outside of Tokyo Sushi and below is the sign above the door.

Above is a photo I took the morning after they closed and before the restaurant was changed.

 Above is the main sushi chef and owner.  Below next to Julie is the wife of the chef and the other owner, next to me is the main waitress who came back for the last night of Tokyo Sushi.

Thanks for the memories and the great food!

On the way out we ran into Michael and a bunch of his friends.  Michael ate there for lunch with some of his buddies and came back last night with about 10 of his friends for the final meal at Tokyo Sushi.  Michael and his friends were the last ones to leave Tokyo Sushi at 11:30pm that night.  The owners gave them food and drinks for being such loyal customers over the many years.

The Imitation Game - the Alan Turing story - FANTASTIC Movie

I took my wife to see The Imitation Game this past week.  I did not tell Julie it was likely to be a geek movie that she would hate. I wanted to see if she liked it as a movie and not be influenced, in either direction, because the late and great Alan Turing is on the Mount Rushmore of computer legends.


On the left is Alan Turing and the right is the "bombe" or the electromechanical machine Turing created to decipher the Enigma.

Whether or not you know anything about computers or have read multiple books on Alan Turing like I have, it is a GREAT movie.  I was blown away how well they handled the technical details and were able to tell a great story without blowing it on the technical side.

 
 Germany's Enigma machine

The movie is about one of the most important individuals in World War II that most people have never heard of - Alan Turing.  Turing's work saved 14 million lives and cut two years off the war according to most historians.  The story is the race to figure out the German's Enigma machine which was a state of the art encryption device the Germans used to communicate to their military.  The Germans changed the settings (master key if you will) daily.  The number of possibilities of this master key on the Enigma has 158,962,555,217,826,360,000 or 15 quintillion. In other words, you could not throw enough humans at this problem.  The only way to solve this was with a machine so Turing created a electromechanical machine that he called Christopher after his childhood friend who died.  It was called externally the bombe.

It is a brilliant movie of an incredible true story and I hope it wins the Oscar for the best movie.

NOTE: The three images come wikipedia and can be used via the GFDL.

President Obama's Brilliant Idea of Two Years of Free Community College

This past Friday President Obama stated he would like a plan to pay for two years of tuition at community college.

The Lydia DePillis article on the Washington Post called:

Six things to know about Obama’s plan for free community college

Below is a snippet:

“Universal high school unleashed decades of innovation and talent that fueled growth, both in manufacturing but also in knowledge sectors,” says Josh Wyner, director of the College Excellence program at the Aspen Institute. ”So the notion that we’re extending universal education to the first two years of college is really kind of a moonshot idea. We know high school isn’t enough anymore.”

I think this is a brilliant idea by President Obama!

If the Cicret becomes real - it will be very cool

IF this Cicret bracelet becomes a real product, this will be very cool.  Thanks to my father for sending this to me.

Corvette Heaven Video

This is well done and little sad as well.



"Corvette Heaven" from Philip Volkoff on Vimeo.

Rick Mosca Joins Memex as Chief Operations Officer, USA and Leads Partner Program

I have been meaning to blog about this for awhile.  This is HUGE that Rick Mosca joined the executive leadership team at Memex Automation! I have known Rick for 4+ years and he is an absolute thought leader with a tremendous track record in his distinguished career.  I had the pleasure of working with Rick when I was President and Chairman of the Board for the MTConnect Institute and Rick was with Mind Over Machines.

Rick will also be heading up our Partner Operations which is critical for our global scaling and success.

Welcome Rick!

Below is the press release:

BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, Dec 11, 2014 Astrix Networks Inc., operating as Memex Automation (OEE) ("Memex" or the "Company") has closed a non-brokered private placement totaling $348,000. A total of 2,900,000 Units were issued at a price of $0.12 each ("Units"). Each Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.16 at any time prior to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on December 12, 2016.

In connection with the private placement the Company paid a finder's fee on certain subscriptions of 6% of the proceeds raised via brokers and issued broker warrants (the "Broker Warrants") equal to 6% of the number of Units sold. The total fees paid were $9,744 in cash and 81,201 Broker Warrants. Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.16 at any time prior to 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on December 12, 2016. All securities issued are subject to a hold period, which will expire on April 12, 2015. The closing is subject to receipt of final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
As part of this placement the Company's newest Executive, Rick Mosca, now Chief Operations Officer of Astrix Networks America Inc. subscribed for 13% of the placement. Mr. Mosca is an IT executive with special expertise in leading all facets of business including client facing revenue development, sales channel development, applications development and enterprise systems delivery. 

"I first became aware of Memex through my relationship with AMT, as a member of the Technical Advisory Group of MTConnect," explains Rick Mosca. "With a multi-year line of sight of the MTConnect products in development, it became clear to me that MERLIN is the most complete and robust forward and backward compatible solution. Based on my experience and industry knowledge, I am convinced that MERLIN has the potential to become the industry leading MTConnect-based MES solution, and I am thrilled to be joining this team as its American COO."

"It is with great pleasure that I welcome Rick Mosca to the Memex senior management team as the COO of our American subsidiary," reports David McPhail, CEO. "Rick brings with him a wealth of global experience and a proven track record of building effective, profitable and lasting relationships at the CXO level within the Fortune 500."

About Memex Automation

Memex Automation (OEE) is the leader of manufacturing Machine to Machine (M2M) productivity solutions and the measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness ("OEE") in real-time. OEE is the measurement of plant-wide capacity utilization. MERLIN (Manufacturing Enterprise Real-time Lean Information Network) generates OEE enterprise-wide, plant by plant, machine by machine. As published in Automation.Com in July 2014, by using MERLIN in its 800,000 square foot Kentucky plant, Mazak, the largest machine tool builder in the world, increased the utilization of its own machines by 42%, and now offers MERLIN on their price list. Okuma America Corporation, a world leader in CNC machine tools, announced in April 2014 that Memex Automation became a Partner in THINC. On April 15, 2014, PEM awarded the Company the 2014 Plant Engineering & Maintenance Award for 'Best Company Under 50 Employees.' Frost & Sullivan awarded MERLIN its 2013 Technology Innovation Leadership Award for Machine Monitoring. Microsoft picked MERLIN to be its mid-market ERP machine connectivity solution. For more information, please visit: www.memex.ca.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:
Sales: Memex Automation Inc.
John Rattray
VP Sales and Marketing
905-635-0590

jrattray@memex.ca

3-D Haptic Shape - Very cool!

Long time friend and expert in many areas, Steve F, sent this article at Phys.org to me to me on 3-D haptic shapes and I thought it was extremely cool.

Below is a snippet from the article.  You need to click on the link above and check out the video as well.

"The research, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues Professor Sriram Subramanian, Sue Ann Seah and Tom Carter from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.

The method uses ultrasound, which is focussed onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.

The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system."

The research, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues Professor Sriram Subramanian, Sue Ann Seah and Tom Carter from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.
The method uses ultrasound, which is focussed onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.
The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-team-invisible-d-haptic-video.html#jCp

The research, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues Professor Sriram Subramanian, Sue Ann Seah and Tom Carter from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.
The method uses ultrasound, which is focussed onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.
The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-team-invisible-d-haptic-video.html#jCp

The research, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues Professor Sriram Subramanian, Sue Ann Seah and Tom Carter from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.
The method uses ultrasound, which is focussed onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.
The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-team-invisible-d-haptic-video.html#jCp

The research, led by Dr Ben Long and colleagues Professor Sriram Subramanian, Sue Ann Seah and Tom Carter from the University of Bristol's Department of Computer Science, could change the way 3D shapes are used. The new technology could enable surgeons to explore a CT scan by enabling them to feel a disease, such as a tumour, using haptic feedback.
The method uses ultrasound, which is focussed onto hands above the device and that can be felt. By focussing complex patterns of ultrasound, the air disturbances can be seen as floating 3D shapes. Visually, the researchers have demonstrated the ultrasound patterns by directing the device at a thin layer of oil so that the depressions in the surface can be seen as spots when lit by a lamp.
The system generates an invisible 3D shape that can be added to 3D displays to create something that can be seen and felt. The research team have also shown that users can match a picture of a 3D shape to the shape created by the system.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-team-invisible-d-haptic-video.html#jCp

God Bless Stuart Scott - ESPN Sports-Center

Stuart Scott passed away this morning after a multiple year fight against recurring cancer. He was the type of anchor that brought knowledge and excitement to everything that he did. He coined numerous phrases, but more importantly he defined class all the way through his fight with cancer and especially during the Jimmy V Perseverance Award he received this summer.

Very, very sad...

HBO Documentary on bin Laden called Manhunt

I watched this documentary on HBO called Manhunt over the break and thought it was excellent in terms of just how difficult the job was and is for those employees in the CIA.  It shows the real people who had this incredibly difficult job and is heart breaking to see how much pressure these individuals felt before and after 9/11.  While I agree with President Obama and Senator John McCain when it comes to water-boarding and getting real intelligence, you can certainly appreciate the pressure these CIA employees felt a that time to keep America safe.

The Edstrom's Deer of 2014

Below is the deer that I pulled out of Rick Allen's trash ten years ago and made it into the award winning Christmas deer that it is today.  Award winning meaning if I do not get the deer out earlier enough in the year then I am getting calls from the neighbors asking when the deer will be out because they are having a Christmas party and they told their guests to look for the big deer :-)

I added to the beating heart this year.  Maybe someday I will get an Arduino and program it to be even more lifelike, but that will not likely happen until I am retired.

Congratulations to AMT for Pentaho Excellence Award for Improved Customer Experience!

When I heard that AMT was awarded the Pentaho Excellence Award for Improved Customer Experience I thought it was well deserved and very cool!

I worked with the fantastic folks at AMT on MTInsight for 4 1/2 years and they are great team and it was my honor to be part of the development team. Here is the case study for AMT.

Congratulations to the entire MTInsight team!

Below is text at Pentaho's Excellen Awards site honoring AMT. 

Improved Customer Experience - AMT

When you see a tag that reads, “Made in America,” AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology probably had something to do with its creation. AMT is a trade association that represents and promotes U.S.-based manufacturing technology and its members – those who design, build, sell and service the continuously evolving technology at the heart of manufacturing. These 606 member companies have two main objectives in running their business: increasing sales and decreasing costs. One of the key ways AMT helps members accomplish this is through a business intelligence platform called MTInsight, which provides industry intelligence to help members position their business for success and make informed decisions. Prior to implementing Pentaho, members ran reports but had no mechanism to save their selections, and lost significant time spent on tedious efforts. Through the ingenuity of Pentaho’s Custom Visualization Team, AMT overcame these obstacles and improved user experience, with new visually appealing and easy to use dashboards. Moreover, Pentaho significantly reduced their BI tool costs. As a result of the decreased expenses related to the software running MTInsight, AMT can now offer free subscriptions to their data portal, rather than forcing the purchase of subscriptions to take advantage of benefits available within MTInsight.

Edstrom Family in Suite at Wizards-Celtics Win

I sold the two season tickets that I had for last night's game and purchased 5 seats for a lower level suite.  We had Suite 108 and below are some photos from last night's Wizards win versus the Celtics.  A great time was had by all.

Above is all five of us at the beginning of the game.

Below is Tim in the front of the suite where we had our own refrigerator, sink, stove and bathroom.

Above is (closest) Michael, John and Tim.

Above is the view from the Suite with John Wall with the ball.

Below is a happy group after a Wizards win and great time at a very nice suite.

Memex Automation Leadership Team Weekend

On Friday 19th we had a great Christmas Party for Memex Automation employees and on Saturday the 20th we spend a fantastic day in Toronto.  Huge thanks to Pauline and David McPhail for hosting all of us in Toronto for a absolutely great day!

Below are some photos from that very memorable day.

A few of us enjoyed some drinks at the Mill Street Brew Pub and then we all had lunch (above) in The Distillery District in Toronto at a very nice restaurant called Archeo. 

In the photo above are, clockwise from left, is Rick Mosca, Chief Operating Officer who also runs our Partner Program, Dr. Mary Saunders (John's wife), Julie Edstrom, Pauline McPhail, Linda Mosca, John Rattray, VP for Sales and Marketing, David McPhail President and CEO and me the Chief Technology Officer.  The four of us are the senior leadership team members for Memex Automation.

Above is the view from our seats at The Second City in Toronto.  This is the sister venue to the The Second City in Chicago and both are known for their impressive history of comics that started at Second City.

Above is one of the photos of some of the early players at Second City in Toronto. Some of the easy to recognize comics are Dan Akroyd at the bottom, John Candy at the upper left and Eugene Levy at the upper right.

Above is a photo looking through the glass floor at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto.

Below a few of us enjoyed a drink at the bar at the top of the CN tower after a great day.

Very Creative Snowblower Impeller Modification to Decrease Jammed 2nd Stages and Increase the Throw

I thought this was a very creative modification to any snowblower to radically cut down on heavy snow getting stuck in the impeller of the second stage. I use a Snow and Ice Teflon repellant spray by DuPont that keeps the snow from freezing to the side, but this is a better long term fix that SixtyFiveFord has come up with.

Thanks James Li - Outstanding Software Developer - Memex Automation's First Co-OP

This past Friday we were able to thank and recognize our very first software developer co-op student at Memex Automation, James Li, from the University of Waterloo. James is very bright and a gifted software developer.  Not only did he complete every task he was given ahead of schedule, these assignments were extremely well designed and written, but he did so with such enthusiasm that it was an absolute joy to have him on our team. 

James started for us this past fall in a full time co-op position as a software developer.  In the months that James was with the Memex Software Development Team, he managed to work on number of critical projects for us. James setup a new world-class continuous testing environment, created a configuration and capacity testing tool for MERLIN that allows us to properly gauge unlimited workloads as well as wrote numerous pieces of software for our future MERLIN 3.0 Manufacturing Executive System (MES) platform such as security modules, software metric widgets and many other impressive pieces of software.  




Above is the crystal globe that we had made for James and below is a closeup of text on the crystal base;





James Li is a talented young man and we very proud to say he was our first co-op at Memex Automation!

We started a new tradition - all co-ops have to go to Montana's restaurant and wear the horns after lunch :-)

From left to right below is Anusha, Terry, Brian, James, me, Ryan, Tim and Jeremy who are all part of the extremely talented software and hardware development team at Memex.

We also recognized James at our homepage at Memex Automation.

We wish him James all the best!  (And sincerely hope that he comes back full time!)