Saturday, October 24, 2015
Martin Fowler's Great Blog Post On Remote Versus Co-Located Work
I really enjoyed this blog post by Martin Fowler titled: Remote Versus Co-Located Work.
Martin is a great speaker, writer and thought leader in the field of software.
He brings out many great points such as these three snippets below:
"Another factor is that there are so many other factors that make a team work well. If someone is saying they are more effective on a single-site team, that may be because other factors are in play compared to different teams. One way to reduce this problem is to pay special attention to teams that have changed their distribution pattern, such as splitting from single-site to multi-site. Other factors still intrude, particularly since changes in team distribution often mean people will leave or join a team, but I think this yields stronger evidence than comparing totally different teams.
Given this, all I (or anyone) can do is listen to lots of people and make the best judgement I can. I've heard a lot of experiences about teams and locations, including quite a few where teams have changed their distribution pattern (although I haven't heard very much to or from remote-first). The weight of anecdotes leads me to conclude that most teams are more productive when in a single-site model.
The reason for this is the ease of communication. While tools like (video) chat, screen sharing, and the like have done much to make remote work easier, there is still nothing as effective as being able to turn around, see the person you want to talk to, and just be able to speak. Co-location also introduces a huge amount of out-of-band conversations which improves personal relationships. The result is a virtuous cycle of improved relationships and communication. Since communication is such a central part of software development, this is a big impact on productivity."
When people ask me, "why did Sun go belly up?" One of my answers is, "hoteling or work from home killed Sun Microsystems." I would say this because hoteling absolutely killed any sense of teamwork or comradery. This was especially tough when a company is going through layoffs as Sun was at the time.
My feeling on this has been that teams need to be be physically together, but individuals can work from home for stretches at a time when it is more heads-down isolated work.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Benghazi Hearings Today
Here is the bottom line on Benghazi. There is no there there.
Hillary just became the President of the United States in the November 2016 election. All the Republicans looked like they brought a knife to a gun fight when questioning Hillary Clinton. I am certainly not a Hillary fan, but the Republicans looked like fools today. Warren Buffett called it on May 4th of this year...
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The Three "A"s of MTConnect - the Adapter, Agent and Application
As the former President and Chairman of the Board of the MTConnect Institute, I have given this 10 minute presentation countless number of times to explain the Three "A"s of MTConnect - the Adapter, Agent and Application.
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As a reminder, MTConnect is the open,
royalty-free manufacturing communications protocol which fosters greater interoperability between manufacturing
devices and software. The MTConnect standard
provides
connectivity and the capability to monitor and then harvest data from the
entire production floor: machines, cells, devices, and processes. The standard makes this possible, because it’s based on XML and HTTP
Internet technology for real-time
data sharing.
The adapter is the piece of software and/or hardware that sits between the device itself, such as a machine tool, sensor, compressor, any MTConnect enabled device, and the agent. The adapter needs to speak the specific language that the device understands and then convert that to SHDR (Simple Hierarchical Data Representation - a simple time stamped human readable stream separated by "|" symbols as delimiters. The information is sent continuously from the device to the adapter and then to the agent. Please note that the SHDR protocol is not officially part of the MTConnect spec, but in reality, almost all of the adapters use SHDR to speak to the reference agent. The reference agent is the agent that is out at http://github.com/MTConnect that almost all of the implementations out there today use as their agent.
The agent can be thought of as a simple web server that on one side talks to the adapter and the other side talks to applications. The agent is what translates the SHDR and makes it available in MTConnect (XML) format via http (how you access any webpage on the web today such as ESPN.com). The agent responds to simple commands from the apps or applications such as probe, current, sample or asset as examples. The agent has a circular buffer for storing the data that is coming from the adapter. Typically this is about 10 minutes of data.
The app or applications can be anything that wants to get information from the agent on what the MTConnect enabled device is doing. Typically, the app is a shop floor monitoring app such as MERLIN. Apps query the agent and typically store that information into a database as well as make that info available in dashboards, reports, email alerts and countless other ways.
I think these 10 minutes should give you a very nice overview of how MTConnect works and a deeper dive on what happens under the covers for MTConnect with the Adapter, Agent and Application.
As I stated in the webcast, you can learn more at MemexInc.net/MTConnect
Friday, October 16, 2015
Exciting Announcement - Mazak Launches Platform To Bring Manufacturers Into the IIOT
These are very exciting times for the world of MTConnect!
Mazak developed SmartBox to work with any machine regardless of make, model or age.
Mazak Corporation is collaborating with
Cisco and MEMEX to launch a platform “for easy and highly secure
entrance into the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT),” called
SmartBox.
This technology represents a huge leap
in digital integration across manufacturing. Access to real-time
manufacturing data is used to improve overall productivity and
responsiveness to customer/market changes. Using MTConnect technology as
the foundation, SmartBox connectivity of machines and devices allows
for enhanced monitoring and analytical capabilities including
advanced cyber security protection.
Mazak is showcasing the SmartBox
technology during its DISCOVER 2015 Technology and Education Event, held
October 27-29 and November 3-5 at its North American Manufacturing
Headquarters.
The power of SmartBox will be
demonstrated in one of the automated cells as part of the company’s own
manufacturing operations. Each of the cell’s four machines are outfitted
with a SmartBox and sensor array package, giving event attendees a
firsthand look at the device in action within an actual
manufacturing environment and network.
The SmartBox is another component within
Mazak’s dynamic iSMART Factory concept and one that takes advantage of
Cisco’s Connected Machines solution to provide insights into machine
operations. Advanced manufacturing cells and systems, along with full
digital integration, can achieve free-flow data sharing, i.e., process
control and operation/equipment monitoring.
The iSMART concept also incorporates
Mazak’s SMOOTH Technology working in tandem with the MTConnect standard
connectivity protocol.
Mazak also developed SmartBox to work
with any machine regardless of make, model or age and will offer it in
various configurations/kits based on the scenarios and challenges in
which the units will be used. The device physically mounts to the side
of machines without having to integrate into a machine’s electrical
cabinet. With several standard input/output connecting ports, SmartBox
lets users quickly and easily connect any standard off-the-shelf sensors
to the system for machine data gathering and condition monitoring. One
SmartBox may service several machine tools along with other associated
manufacturing equipment, depending on the application.
At the heart of the SmartBox is Cisco’s
Connected Machines solution, based on the IoT System, designed
specifically for industrial environments and equipped with an MTConnect
software agent. Using a fog computing model, the MT Connect software
runs directly on the ruggedized Cisco Industrial Ethernet (IE) 4000
switch—providing real time visibility and insights into data right on
the factory floor.
The Memex software installed in Mazak’s
own factory allows for monitoring analytics of machines, test stands and
other equipment within the plant. The Cisco hardware is designed to
help prevent any issues with unauthorized access from both directions –
to or from the machines and equipment within a network. SmartBox
satisfies the highly critical security concerns of IT departments when
connecting legacy equipment to a plant’s main network for the purpose of
gathering manufacturing data via the MTConnect protocol.
“With the development of SmartBox, Mazak
continues to drive toward its iSMART Factory concept and connecting
today’s shops to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to achieve
levels of efficiency and productivity never before realized,” said Brian
Papke, President of Mazak Corporation. “And while our concept centers
around open connectivity and the Internet, we at Mazak believe it is our
moral obligation to also provide customers the highest level of
security possible with SmartBox. As with all the technology we develop,
Mazak has first implemented SmartBox into our own operations before
expecting customers to wholeheartedly embrace the system.”
The underlying Cisco networking platform
helps ensure that IT technicians will be familiar with SmartBox’s
operation and can use it to quickly and easily control and manage
network security. Also, the hardware allows manufacturers to enable
secure machine communications through secure access and identity policy
mechanisms. Third parties, such as equipment suppliers, can then log on
to a company’s network and access only those machines equipped with a
Mazak SmartBox.
“This is great example of how Cisco
works with our ecosystem of partners to help customers capture the value
of digitization,” said Tony Shakib, Vice President, Vertical Solutions,
at Cisco.
“Cisco’s scalable and secure IoT
platform makes it possible for partners like Mazak and MEMEX to quickly
launch new IoT offerings that provide high-value customer experiences
and business outcomes. We’re helping our OEM partners transform their
business from selling products to selling industrial services.”
For more information, visit www.mazakusa.com.
To see the article, please click here.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Another Horseman of the Internet Bites The Dust
There is a nice article by Matt Kranz in USA Today titled, "Another 'Horseman of the Internet' loses its head"
"EMC was one of those stocks you just had to own in the late 1990s and early 2000 - as it was one of the companies nicknamed the "Four Horsemen of the Internet." These companies prospered as their customers bought gear looking to build Internet systems and Web sites. EMC, along with network gear maker Cisco Systems (CSCO), storage maker Oracle (ORCL) and computer systems maker Sun Microsystems were seen as dominating the construction and development of the Internet."
It is funny, because younger folks in tech today don't really believe that Sun Microsystems and EMC were big players.
It is interesting how things might change in the future as Mr. Kranz postulates:
"Investors can only wonder if the current "FANG" favorites, Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX) and Google (GOOGL), will meet a similar fate."
Monday, October 12, 2015
Sun Microsystems Fall Outing at Bluemont Winery and Dinner at Magnolias at the Mill
Below are some ole SUNWers from the left to the right, me, Julie, Barb (Dennis' wife), Joy, Dave and Dennis. We were at Bluemont Winery which has one of the best views of any winery in the country with the Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. Bluemont Winery is at 951' elevation and on a clear day you can see (with a set of binoculars) the Washington Monument 55 miles away as the crow flies. It was the perfect fall day to spend the afternoon enjoying some wine and food with long time friends. We met Sue and had dinner in Purcelleville at Magnolias at the Mill.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Memex HW/SW Development Team
Above is the Memex SW/HW Development Team after we had lunch at Montana's in Burlington, Ontario. I am very fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated group of developers!
From left to right is Doug, Anusha, Terry, me, Brian, Tim (in the horns - its a tradition we started :-), Ryan, Gowtham (kneeling), Jeremy and Litian. Not pictured is Ken who was not able to make it.
Mazak's DISCOVER 2015
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Saturday, October 3, 2015
Seagull Century Canceled For First Time in 27 Years
The folks at Salisbury University do a great job running the Seagull Century and they canceled today's ride for the first time in 27 years. It was the right call, but I am bummed that I am not riding with Jeff, Gork and Steve. It is always a great time with them and this year we were spending the weekend at Ocean City, MD -- which would have been great.
Hopefully next year will work out!
Yet Another Shooting In A School - President Obama Is Right
The NRA has blood on its hands. Congress has blood on its hands. Anyone who states the BS line of "more guns make us safer" ALL have blood on their hands.
I am F*CK!NG sick of this BS that the chicken sh*t politicians and the NRA feed the idiot Americans who believe this crap! As a father of a son who stood outside Norris Hall at VT on April 16th, 2007 when the gun shots first started in the worst massacre at a college campus in American history I am disgusted with our politicians and those who suck at the tit of the NRA. I was one of the lucky ones as my son was not killed that day. But my son was very involved in this tragedy after the fact because he worked for (as a volunteer) Virginia Tech's Collegiate Times. My sister (a BS, two Masters and a Ph.D.) was one of the first counselors to show up at VT to help those in need. So, this is very, very near and dear to my heart. One of the many tragic stories I heard first hand was from John's roommate who was one of those who was there when the bodies of the students were being taken out and you could hear the cell phones ringing in those students pants or purses as their moms and dads were calling and praying they were ok.....
The logic of "more guns make us safer" is complete and utter CRAP! It is the Archie Bunker logic. Archie famously stated in the hit TV show All In The Family, to combat the hijackers on planes, they should pass out guns to every one who gets on a plane so when the bad guy pulls out his gun, the good guys will have theirs and can shoot him. That is the same bassawkwards logic that we hear today.
IF guns make us safer, then why did we go through TWO metal detectors before I was able to visit the Senate? IF guns make us safer than why do we have metal detectors before we get on planes? The logic is BS!!
Here is an experiment we can run in the House. Since MOST of the politicians today believe MORE guns make us safer and we can RELY on having that person with the gun to take out the bad guy with the gun, let's do this:
In the Senate keep everything the same - no changes to safety protocols. In the House, let's get rid of all the metal detectors, let's get rid of the protective services that each of the congress men and women have so anyone with a gun can walk right into the floor of the House and sit there with their gun no problem. These Congress men and women should feel just as safe as the Senators according to their logic - right? This is the same logic that that all of these politicians are pushing when they relax all of the gun laws.
It reminds me when I saw Oliver Stone speak live at Foot Hill Community College in CA. Mr. Stone was asked, "why did the Vietnam war go on for so long?" He looked at the woman with disgust and said, "Do you REALLY NOT KNOW?" The woman said sheepishly, "no". Mr. Stone said, "Because politicians kids were not going to war and were not dying. If they were, it would have been a short war." The same logic applies here.
I have lots of friends who are police officers or Secret Service agents or detectives. They all say the same thing, which is just because you can shoot a gun does NOT mean you are properly trained to use it in a real life situation.
It's interesting that most of my relatives all like to hunt. Which I think is perfectly fine. BUT, NONE of them going hunting with an AK-47, M16 or any type of machine gun!
You have to have a license to get married, to go hunting, to fishing, to drive a car, to drive a commercial vehicle or hell EVEN to cut someone's hair in a barber shop, BUT you don't need a universal background check to buy a gun??????
Politicians LOVE to say, "well the American people have said...." Well guess what IDIOT politicians, look what Americans say about universal background checks for guns???
"Ninety-two percent of voters, including 92 percent of gun owners and 86 percent of Republicans, support background checks prior to all gun sales, according to a new poll from Quinnipiac University."
Don't tell me this crap response, "well, if we look at where the gun laws are the strictest that is where we have the most murders." Yeah, it really matters when DC has a tight gun law but freaking Virginia is the wild, wild west doesn't it?
Also, don't give me the BS response of, "well, what can you do, these things will just happen." That is Homer Simpson logic when Bart tried something and failed Homer said, "Bart, you learned a very valuable lesson today, never, EVER try."
Frank Bruni writes a great article title Guns, Campuses and Madness in the NT Times when he states:
"This is madness. When it comes to guns, we have lost our bearings in this country, allowing misguided chest-thumping about a constitutional amendment penned in an entirely different epoch, under entirely different circumstances, to trump all prudence and decency.
President Obama had it right when he said on Thursday that Americans had “become numb to this,” as evidenced by our political paralysis — or, in the case of Texas, our sprint in the wrong direction. He noted that there was now “a gun for roughly every man, woman and child in America.”
“So how can you, with a straight face, make the argument that more guns will make us safer?” he added."
Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times "A New Way To Tackle Gun Deaths":
"First, we need to comprehend the scale of the problem: It’s not just occasional mass shootings like the one at an Oregon college on Thursday, but a continuous deluge of gun deaths, an average of 92 every day in America. Since 1970, more Americans have died from guns than died in all U.S. wars going back to the American Revolution.
When I reported a similar figure in the past, gun lobbyists insisted that it couldn’t possibly be true. But the numbers are unarguable: fewer than 1.4 million war deaths since 1775, more than half in the Civil War, versus about 1.45 million gun deaths since 1970 (including suicides, murders and accidents).
If that doesn’t make you flinch, consider this: In America, more preschoolers are shot dead each year (82 in 2013) than police officers are in the line of duty (27 in 2013), according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI."
Republicans like to say as stated so well by E.J. Dionne, Jr on October 4th titled "The Conservative Evasion On Guns"
"Politicians who go on about American greatness should be ashamed of saying that the United States is the one and only nation that can’t act effectively to solve a problem every other free and democratic country has contained."
Dionne nailed it! Don't tell me how great America is and "exceptional" when the Republicans are so afraid of the NRA that those politicians refuse to address this incredible problem!
I would be willing to be BIG MONEY that if a Senator or Congressman's child was killed on a college campus or at a school that they would have a "change of heart" and realize how f*cking crazy American's politicians have become in their absolute fear of the NRA!!!!
God Bless President Obama who has it EXACTLY right -- we have spent over $1 TRILLION on fighting terrorism, but that is a rounding error compared to gun deaths -- this CANNOT become routine and I am glad that he will not let it - if only the politicians had some courage.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Congratulations to Susan Landau - Cybersecurity Hall of Fame
One of the true privileges of working at Sun Microsystems was working with truly brilliant people who were changing the world. One of those was Susan Landau.
I just read in CIO that Susan was named to be inducted into the Cybersecurity Hall of Fame. As the article states:
"The National Cyber Security Hall of Fame has announced its recent class of inductees. In noting them we also highlight some of the past winners. The hall of fame recognizes the history and contributions of pioneers, innovators and educators who influenced the industry. The inductees are chosen by a board of advisers"
The article goes on to say:
"Susan Landau is a Professor of Cybersecurity Policy in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Landau has been a senior staff Privacy Analyst at Google, a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems."
Congrats Susan!! It is WELL deserved!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
How VW Cheated on the EPA Test
There is a nice and succinct article by
The tech behind how Volkswagen tricked emissions tests
Here is how they did it from the article:
"In the end, the detailed requirements for each test gave Volkswagen the
advance knowledge it needed to teach its cars when to behave more
cleanly. By measuring how long the engine was running, the vehicle’s
speeds, and even seemingly esoteric factors, such as the position of the
steering wheel and barometric pressure, Volkswagen vehicles could
understand they were being tested and so adjusted their engine
performance to pass the tests, according to the EPA."
The article is well worth reaching.
Friday, September 25, 2015
Germany versus the United States for Industry 4.0
There is a very interesting article written by Alex Webb for Bloomberg Businessweek titled,
Below is from Alex Webb's article that all of us in manufacturing and in the world of MTConnect can appreciate quite well:
"Unlike in computing, with its standardized suite of keyboards and USB connectors, there are no dominant standards in industrial equipment."
"Unlike in computing, with its standardized suite of keyboards and USB connectors, there are no dominant standards in industrial equipment."
When I read the paragraph below in the article, I think of what we are doing at Memex with MERLIN.
"Both groups aim to make it easier for machines in factories throughout companies’ supply chains to communicate with one another. The goal: to reduce downtime by anticipating when a factory will have spare capacity or need replacement parts, for example. Built-in sensors will collect all manner of data to better allocate resources, helping manufacturers cut energy use by as much as 20 percent and labor costs by 25 percent, according to consultant McKinsey."
"Both groups aim to make it easier for machines in factories throughout companies’ supply chains to communicate with one another. The goal: to reduce downtime by anticipating when a factory will have spare capacity or need replacement parts, for example. Built-in sensors will collect all manner of data to better allocate resources, helping manufacturers cut energy use by as much as 20 percent and labor costs by 25 percent, according to consultant McKinsey."
One thing I know for sure and that is Germany and the rest of the countries need to embrace MTConnect if they truly want to provide an open and royalty-free standard protocol that is the ultimate game-changer in manufacturing.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Modern Machine Shop's The Seven Things You Need To Know About The Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0
I have had the privilege of working with Mark Albert, Editor in Chief for Modern Machine Shop, on a number of occasions and it is always an honor and a real pleasure. Mark is a great writer and Modern Machine Shop is THE magazine for manufacturing.
Mark wrote a great article titled, The Seven Things You Need To Know About The Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, and I had the chance to provide some comments in his article.
It is an excellent article and Mark asked my thoughts on how to get started and below is a snippet of my comments:
"Getting Started on the IoT Pathway
So how does a machine shop begin to bring on the power of the Industrial IoT? A practical option for many companies will be to install a comprehensive machine monitoring system. Dave Edstrom, the chief technology officer at Memex, recommends this approach because machine monitoring introduces key elements necessary for wider Industrial IoT connections. For example, even basic machine monitoring can require equipping machines with the necessary interfaces for data collection and reporting; establishing the framework for a shop-wide network; getting the shop workforce accustomed to a data-driven manufacturing environment; training managers to recognize and deal with data management issues (who gets what report and what do they do with the info); and so on.
“Most shops that implement a monitoring system such as MERLIN start with a small number of machines to ease the learning curve and get everyone on board,” Mr. Edstrom says. MERLIN (Manufacturing Execution Real-time Lean Information Network) is Memex’s manufacturing execution system and machine-to-machine communications platform that is MTConnect compliant. “Supervisors and operators must be involved in evaluating the machine monitoring software, encouraged to provide input and given a clear understanding of the direction the company is taking with this implementation,” he adds. He also notes that, from the start, machine data must translate into actionable information that helps both the operators and managers. Operators must feel that this is a tool for them and not Big Brother looking over their shoulders.
Installing large display screens to show reports such as machine utilization is typically part of a shop’s pilot project. Visual awareness creates quick (and significant) results, because shopfloor personnel instinctively focus their thinking and practices on improvements that boost utilization, Mr. Edstrom reports.
Once a shopfloor monitoring system is in place, the shop can deploy additional sensors to augment their dashboards and reports to improve performance and lower costs. “Monitoring software that can speak to a wide range of devices and provide real-time dashboards with notification triggers and reporting to drive down costs and drive up productivity in a secure and predictable way will be the heart of the Industrial IoT,” Mr. Edstrom concludes."
Sunday, September 20, 2015
George Will, the Republican Debate, Pope Francis, Ronald Reagan, Jon Huntsman and Upton Sinclair
I disagree with George Will on every topic except when he writes about baseball. When it comes to baseball, George Will is clearly an expert.
When it comes to science, Mr. Will should listen to the Pope. Mr. Will writes an article in today's Washington Post titled, "Pope Francis’ fact-free flamboyance"
The only thing that is fact-free in the article is Mr. Will's lack of logic and his inability to address science in any cohesive fashion.
It is a absolutely mind-blowing that NONE of the current Republican candidates believe in climate change! Even the legendary neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson does not believe in climate change. I can certainly understand why Donald Trump and the others do not believe in climate change. It makes sense when you think about that in the context of what Upton Sinclair stated:
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
The last presidential Republican candidate that believed in BOTH climate change AND evolution was not even a rounding error in the Republican primaries. When former Utah Governor tweeted, "To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy", it was a guarantee that he would never get the nomination.
Even the Holy Patron Saint of the Republican Party Ronald Reagan once stated, “worried about what man has done and is doing to this magical planet that God gave us."
When we will hear a Republican presidential candidate state they believe in science such as Jon Huntsman or even at the very least, agree with Ronald Reagan?
Monday, September 14, 2015
Great "Kim Davis Marriage" Billboard
I just read that a group created a billboard where Kim Davis (the woman who believes her particular religious beliefs outweighs the Supreme Court) is greeted to the following:
“Dear Kim Davis, the fact that you can’t sell your daughter for three goats and a cow means we’ve already redefined marriage”
This is an obvious reference to verses in the Bible that permit the selling of women.
I wonder if Mike Huckabee would have coming running to Kim Davis' side (in the bright camera lights) if she happened to be a non-Christian and her religious beliefs did not allow for same sex marriage?
When I hear these idiots state that the United States was based on a particular religion, I suggest they go read some of the Amendments - with the first one not being a bad place to start...
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.Nice Cutting Tool Engineering Article by MEMEX CEO David McPhail
Here is a link to an article titled:
DATA-DRIVEN MANUFACTURING
David writes regarding the importance of having data:
David writes regarding Mazak's use of our product:
"Mazak’s IT department started the efficiency drive by implementing the MTConnect protocol to accurately determine machine availability by using OEE as a standard measurement.
Brian Papke, Mazak’s CEO, personally drove the project to show the machine tool industry the importance of moving toward data- driven manufacturing.
Mazak chose the platform for its ability to collect data using MT- Connect adapters for newer machines and through its Universal Machine Interface circuit board for legacy machines. This advanced adapter board directly captures sig- nals from a legacy machine and translates it into MTConnect-standard code. This combination means every machine on the shop floor is MTConnect-compatible for a com- mon technology analysis platform."
David writes regarding the importance of having data:
"Top-flight manufacturers understand that a convergence of connectivity, analytics and ubiquitous
Internet devices creates opportunity for an industrial-strength, shop-
floor-to-top-floor communications
platform that provides real-time efficiency metrics. Specifically, a software-based machine monitoring
platform should:
■ deliver a 10 to 50 percent average productivity increase;
■ create at least 20 percent profit improvement, based on an achievable 10 percent increase in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE);
■ achieve payback in less than 4 months with an internal rate of return greater than 300 percent; and
■ connect to any machine, old or new, using either native MTConnect or retrofitted hardware adapters.
Machine monitoring allows plant managers to cost-effectively iso- late productivity issues so everyone from the CEO to each individual machine operator can understand what must be done to maximize efficiency"
■ deliver a 10 to 50 percent average productivity increase;
■ create at least 20 percent profit improvement, based on an achievable 10 percent increase in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE);
■ achieve payback in less than 4 months with an internal rate of return greater than 300 percent; and
■ connect to any machine, old or new, using either native MTConnect or retrofitted hardware adapters.
Machine monitoring allows plant managers to cost-effectively iso- late productivity issues so everyone from the CEO to each individual machine operator can understand what must be done to maximize efficiency"
David writes regarding Mazak's use of our product:
"Mazak’s IT department started the efficiency drive by implementing the MTConnect protocol to accurately determine machine availability by using OEE as a standard measurement.
Brian Papke, Mazak’s CEO, personally drove the project to show the machine tool industry the importance of moving toward data- driven manufacturing.
Mazak chose the platform for its ability to collect data using MT- Connect adapters for newer machines and through its Universal Machine Interface circuit board for legacy machines. This advanced adapter board directly captures sig- nals from a legacy machine and translates it into MTConnect-standard code. This combination means every machine on the shop floor is MTConnect-compatible for a com- mon technology analysis platform."
Sunday, September 13, 2015
A Sad Few Weeks - Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone Both Die
The Philadelphia 76ers were my favorite NBA team of all time. Both Darryl Dawkins and Moses Malone were centers for the 76ers. Darryl died on August 27th and Moses Malone died today. Both were absolute legends.
Darryl Dawkins gave names to his dunks. My favorite was: Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Glass-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Babies-Crying, Glass-Still-Flying, Cats-Crying, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Thank You-Wham-Bam-I-Am-Jam
Moses Malone was the "Chairman of The Boards" for his incredible offensive and defensive rebounding abilities. As stated in wikipedia "Malone's acquisition paid dividends, as the 76ers won 65 games in the 1982–83 NBA season. Prior to the playoffs, Malone predicted a clean playoff sweep for the 76ers, ending it with the statement Fo, Fo, Fo. The 76ers would steamroll through the playoffs, sweeping the New York Knicks 4–0 in the conference semifinals, before overcoming the Milwaukee Bucks in five games of the conference finals, thereby denying Malone's infamous prediction. Nevertheless, the 76ers were heading into the Finals as confident as ever."
As stated on ESPN, "Malone was the first player to go pro right out of high school, signing with the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association in 1974. He played the following season for the Spirits of St. Louis before moving to the Buffalo Braves after the ABA-NBA merger in 1976."
God bless Darryl and Moses - they brought tremendous joy to NBA fans all over the world.
Corvette Racing Wins The Triple Crown!
CORVETTE RACING: TRIPLE CROWN WINNER
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - Corvette Racing's victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans two weeks ago completed the team’s Triple Crown of sports car endurance racing with the Chevrolet Corvette C7.R. Corvette Racing is the first team since 2000 to win the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans in the same season.Above is from Corvette Racing which is VERY COOL!
Saturday, September 12, 2015
How Often Should You Upgrade Your iPhone?
I thought this was a very interesting analysis regarding How Often Should You Upgrade Your iPhone by William Gordon? The entire analysis is worth reading.
Below is a snippet:
"To do this,
I subtracted the “market price” for a phone from its original list
price ($650 for each iPhone), then multiplied that by a number of years
to see how it’d affect you in the long run. Since we’re measuring every
one, two, and three years, let’s use 6 years as our least common
denominator. Here’s what I found:
- If you upgrade your iPhone every year for six years, you’ll spend $1014.
- If you upgrade your iPhone every two years for six years, you’ll spend $1044.
- If you upgrade your iPhone every three year for six years, you’ll spend $932.
- If you upgrade your iPhone every four years for six years, you’ll spend $817 (adjusted for the six-year period)."
Monday, September 7, 2015
Dropped Our Landline
In looking at our bill for our landline it was $60 a month. We received 98.96087% of our calls from people wanting our money or to ask us who we were voting for. The only reason to keep the landline was ADT. When I found out that ADT had a cell service option for $5.83 a month that did not use either the landline or the Internet, I realized that was the best solution because both the landline and the 75ohm coaxial cable that comes into the house for our Comcast 150Mbs down and 25Mbs up could both be easily cut outside our house.
I just need to clean up the plates where the old landlines are at so it looks professional. I find it hard to believe that the next purchaser of our house will want a landline, but you never know.
It has been very nice to not have a phone ringing every night from people or organizations we have zero desire to talk to.
For those who know us, just call us on our cells.
My New MacBook Pro 2016 versus my 2010 MacBook Pro Comparison
Five and half years ago I purchased a:
- 2010 MacBook Pro 15" screen
- 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 8GB RAM
- 500GB hard drive (spinning rust type) - I had to upgrade from the 250 GB when I was cut off in traffic in CA and had to make an emergency swerve which caused my briefcase in my trunk to go flying from one side to the other and it killed my drive. I changed the inside of the briefcase so it now has padding around all parts of the computer. I doubt that will happen again, but why push my luck.
A month ago I purchased:
- 2016 MacBook Pro 15" screen
- 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache.
- 16GB RAM
- 1TB PCIe-based flash storage
I did a quick test this morning doing a restart of each computer.
The 2010 MacBook Pro did a complete restart (it did a shutdown and then started the system back up again) where I was logged in with the apps all up and running in 4 minutes and 22 seconds or 262 seconds.
The 2016 MacBook Pro did a complete restart (it did a shutdown and then started the system back up again) where where I was logged in with the apps all up and running in 41 seconds.
Being 514.63 percent faster { (262-41)/41 (formula per Patterson and Hennesy) } is well worth the investment and I probably should not have waited so long.
That might NOT sound like a lot if you are not traveling 100% of the time and constantly restarting your computer or trying to check your email, start up a number of apps or run VMWare between meetings, but trust me, it is a BIG deal. More importantly, EVERYTHING is faster and I estimated that the new MacBook Pro is saving my over an hour each and every day. It runs at the speed of thought :-)
The same day I bought the one above, I purchased the exact same model for my youngest son Tim who is in his final year at JMU majoring in computer science. The Apple salesperson said to Tim, "you have a very nice father who would buy the fastest MacBook Pro that we sell." I had Tim put in $750 of his own money so he had some skin in the game. If you have never purchased anything from Apple, it is the best experience you can possibly have for an in store experience.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
My Oldest Son John in WIRED Article On The Future Of Coding
So, I get a text from my oldest son John asking, "have you ever been in WIRED? :P " with a link. Needless to say when you get this type of text from one of your kids you stop whatever you are doing and go read the article.
The article is titled, "Facebook’s New Spam-Killer Hints at the Future of Coding" by Cade Metz. It's a very interesting article (regardless if my son is quoted in it :-) about Facebook's anti-spam software which is written in a functional computer programming language called Haskell.
Cade Metz writes in the article concerning Haskell "In the early ’90s, a committee of academics built Haskell as a kind of experiment in language design, and all these years later, it remains on the fringes of mainstream programming. At GitHub—the primary repository for software code on the ‘net—Haskell ranks 23rd on the list of the most popular languages. Even so, Facebook chose it as the basis for its enormously complex anti-spam system, which went live earlier this year."
The author continues with a reference to a comment made by Facebook's Lois Brandy, "What he does say is that Haskell is ideally suited to fighting Facebook spam because it’s so adept at executing many different tasks at the same time—and because it gives engineers the tools they need to code all these tasks on the fly."
My son John is quoted in the article, "John Edstrom, who uses Facebook’s system to fight spam on Instagram, the photo-centric social network owned by Facebook, underlines how valuable this can be. “With a lot of these rules, we’re writing them as we’re being attacked. We’re like: ‘Oh crap. We have to get these out fast,'” he says. “If we’re working in a purely functional language that we know doesn’t have side effects, the faster we’re able to move.”
I really enjoyed this article because it touches on so many significant challenges that a computer scientist faces today, and yes it does not hurt that my son is in it and the magazine is WIRED :-)
Monday, August 31, 2015
California Vacation - John and Janet Second Wedding, 60th Anniversary My Parents and My Aunt Dorothy
We went out to CA for a family vacation. While we did a lot of cool things, to me the highlight was seeing my mother (on the right) and my Aunt Dorothy below just get together and talk. This is from the ridge top house - The Trinity House - we rented that overlooked the Sonoma Valley. Absolutely spectacular is the only way to describe it. When we left our 14 acre estate and turned to the right we went down into Sonoma Valley and we went left we went into Napa Vally. You could not ask for a better mother or a better aunt.
Below are John and Janet in front of the church right after the wedding.
The main reason we flew out to CA was for John and Janet's second wedding on the west coast. They had an east coast wedding in the beautiful rolling hills of Loudoun County at Hillsborough Winery.
Above is my parents from their wedding in 1955. They were a little younger than John and Janet at the time.
Above is when we visited Facebook where our oldest son John and his wife Janet both work. My parents both wore their Faceobook shirts. I told the guard that Facebook started a new intern programs for 80+ year olds :-)
Below we are on top the new Building 20 which looks back over the old Sun campus. It will ALWAYS be the old Sun campus until the day I die :-)
In and Out Burger is a must -- thanks to Tim.
No photos can give justice to the large redwoods that we saw with my parents.
We took a 4 hour tour with my parents of San Francisco.
We visited the aquarium and I thought this Stingray was a sign from Jesus/Allah/Buddah that he wants me to purchase a new Corvette - which I did :-)
My father ordered the 2/3 burger at the Black Bear Diner in Sonoma. He ate it all.
Above we went to a nice German restaurant for the rehearsal dinner with Janet's parents and her brother Jeff. It was a great time.
Tim had to order the boot of beer. Two litres of beer - he finished it with Michael's help. He had to give them a $50 deposit since most people drop them and break the boot.
This is a view from the roof of John and Janet's place in the Mission District.
Below we did a night time tour of Alcratraz that was amazing. It takes months to get in the queue and they show you a lot more than the standard tour. They take you to different areas that are not open during the day tours. I highly recommend it.
Above are the sunsets from our house on top the ridge.
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