Congrats to Team Corvette For The 1-2 (Photo) Finish at Rolex 24

As stated by Tony DiZinno at Sportscar 365:

"A dramatic duel between two GT heavyweights, Corvette and Porsche, ended with Corvette winning the GT Le Mans class in a thrilling 54th Rolex 24 at Daytona in an unbelievable 1-2 photo finish.

The two Corvette C7.Rs were separated by 0.034 of a second after 24 hours, with Oliver Gavin edging Antonio Garcia at the checkered flag.
It wound up as a duel between teammates, as the Corvette Racing team allowed the two Corvettes to race for the win between themselves in the final 15 minutes after a previously trouble-free drive the first 23 hours and 45 minutes."

Congratulations to Team Corvette!

Below is a walk around of the C7.R:

Bill Maher Nails It - Real Time with Bill Maher: New Rule – Lies Are the New Truth (HBO)

Bill Maher absolutely nails it.

Memex -- Start capturing real-time OEE in 2016 and burn the clip-boards

Do clip-boards and spreadsheets provide OEE you can trust?  Real-time OEE with MERLIN creates a fresh new factory inside your existing plant Email Sales For manufacturing companies that measure Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), most do it through writing down measurements on a clipboard then inputting those results into spreadsheets. But most plant managers realize that this manual process – which can run through several hands – is prone to inaccuracies. These errors can cause OEE to be misstated by 50% or more. Just as bad, the data isn’t timely or actionable. Prior to installing the MERLIN communications platform, MEMEX customers have admitted that while they were running their plants 24x7, they could only produce data on 20 out of 24 hours with the clip-board-and-spreadsheet method. Ouch.  When the error-prone clipboard method is abandoned for a real-time, data-driven approach that delivers trustworthy OEE, it’s like finding a fresh new factory within your existing operations. Make your New Year’s resolution to burn the clip-boards in 2016. Learn more about how real-time MERLIN analytics and in-plant dashboard displays helped a North American aerospace manufacturer achieve a 90% increase in OEE.  Just click on the Email Sales button below.  Email Sales IIoT News MERLIN IIoT for Homeyer  NTMA's Chairman of the Board and American manufacturing leader Herb Homeyer introduced IIoT software to his factory in 2016 with MERLIN Enterprise Edition from MEMEX.  “The Industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT, is a powerful trend, and MERLIN makes IIoT real by equipping industrial machines with the necessary interfaces for connecting, collecting, and analyzing manufacturing data in real-time,” said Homeyer. “One of the things that most impressed us is how no machine is left behind regardless of make or vintage." Click here to learn more.  MEMEX CNC memory and DNC free trial MEMEX's roots are in CNC memory upgrades for a wide range of controller makes and models, plus proven DNC software for easy and reliable machine communication and file management. Click here for free DNC software trial.  How MEMEX got 2 industry giants to back MERLIN The endorsement of networking giant Cisco and Japanese manufacturing titan Mazak took MEMEX Inc. CEO David McPhail and his team eight years to forge. Click here to learn more.

Our core belief is that successful IIoT technology adoption drives data-driven manufacturing efficiency, and we want to hear from customers like you. Follow us on Twitter at @MemexInc and let us know what you think about our products and support. Your feedback makes us better. Thanks, —David McPhail, CEO, MEMEX Inc.  Copyright © 2016 MEMEX Inc., All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have indicated an interest in MEMEX manufacturing productivity products. Our mailing address is: Memex 105-3425 Harvester Rd Burlington, ON L7N 3N1 Canada

Dutch Cycle/Pedestrian/Car Friendly Intersection -- Could This Be Done With An AI Program Today?

Dennis, Steve, Tim and I had our regular (and spirited :-) lunch today.  One of the topics was AI.  I saw this video on intersections that are car, pedestrian and bike friendly (having nearly been run over on a number of occasions, this got my attention) and wondered - could a computer have designed this today given only the objective of what is safe and practical?  Sort of a modified Turing Test :-)

Dave Edstrom -- Why Attend [MC]2 2016 quote

I was honored to be asked by the MTConnect Institute to provide a quote at the MTConnect: Connecting Manufacturing Conference [MC]2 homepage

Below is my quote (they roll through a few quotes, so I thought I would grab a screen shot).

Blizzard of 2016 - Ashburn in the Epicenter 38+ Inches

My uncle, Stanley "Tat" Thompson had a great phrase for the blizzard that was projected this past Friday-Sunday -- "The forecast is clear and still, snow clear up to your a$$ and still coming!"

Ashburn was absolutely hammered by the blizzard of 2016. We got over 38" of snow.  The BIGGEST blizzard I have ever been in.



Above is me leaving the garage for the FIRST time on Saturday, we still at another foot of snow to come.




Above is me clearing a part of the backyard for the dogs to take care of business.

Above is a photo of a yardstick at 8pm on Saturday night and it kept snowing for another 4 hours. 

Above is a photo of the backyard Saturday night January 23rd.  That is a 6' fence.



Above are Photon and Nero running around in the area I cleared.

Above is my office.  The snow is over 4' high on the screened in porch that is outside my office. The window sill is about a foot above the height of the porch roof.

 

Above is Julie in the front yard and in the back yard after a day of some compaction and melting on Sunday the 24th.

Above and below is Waxpool Road.

 I am not sure if I will ever be in a location where one blizzard dumps more than 38" like the Blizzard of 2016!

Financial Post Article--> How tiny Memex got two industry giants to endorse its manufacturing connectivity platform

This is a fantastic article in the Financial Post on how Memex got one of the largest machine tool companies in the world, Mazak, and the world's largest networking company, Cisco, to come together with this little company in Canada called Memex to create SmartBox.

The author, Rick Spence, absolutely nails it in his article:

How tiny Memex got two industry giants to endorse its manufacturing connectivity platform

The article by Mr. Spence starts out:

"David McPhail, the CEO of Burlington, Ont.-based Memex Inc., loves showing off a new white paper from Mazak, the Japan-based machine-tool giant. Even though its title, “Complete Digital Factory Integration and the IIOT” (Industrial Internet of Things) suggests most  people will find it less than a thrilling reading.

But McPhail cares mostly about the cover, and its three company logos. The stylized word mark of Mazak, with 7,800 employees and 10 factories worldwide, appears on the left side; on the right, inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge, sits the logo of Cisco, the San Francisco networking giant with 72,000 employees; and tucked proudly between the two is the logo of tiny Memex, with 39 employees and sales of $2.1 million.

This kind of exposure doesn’t happen by accident. The eight-page brochure promoting a new “Smart Box” that enables digital connectivity between manufacturing tools represents eight years of work by McPhail and his team. Their Merlin communications platform collects operating data from each piece of equipment and displays it in a dashboard that lets manufacturers boost efficiency by monitoring performance, maintenance and inventory in real time."

I also greatly appreciate the shout out by Dave in the article:

"Soon after, Memex went public on the TSX Venture Exchange, largely so it could raise funds and issue options to attract top talent. One of its key wins: chief technology officer Dave Edstrom, who helped develop the open-source standard for machine-to-machine communications as president and chairman of the MTConnect Institute."

This article really explains how Memex is putting a dent in the manufacturing universe!

American Manufacturing Leader Herb Homeyer Introduces IIoT Software to his factory with MERLIN Enterprise Edition

January 12, 2016   Press Releases, Recent News, Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marthasville, MO, USA – January 12, 2016 – MEMEX Inc. (TSX-V: OEE) is proud to announce that Homeyer Precision Manufacturing Co. has purchased MERLIN Enterprise Edition for a plant roll-out of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) software in Marthasville, MO. The sale includes 23 licenses of MERLIN for Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and Direct Numerical Control (DNC), plus 9 MERLIN MTConnect hardware adapters for legacy CNC manufacturing machines.

Homeyer Precision Manufacturing is led by its President Herb Homeyer, who is also Chairman of the Board of The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA). A passionate business leader, he founded his company in 1990 with a belief in the power of American manufacturing — and a commitment to bring a new level of service to his industry.

“The Industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT, is a powerful trend, and MERLIN makes IIoT real by equipping industrial machines with the necessary interfaces for connecting, collecting, and analyzing manufacturing data in real-time,” said Homeyer. “Our manufacturing team did their homework before choosing MERLIN. One of the things that most impressed us is how no machine is left behind regardless of make or vintage, and MERLIN’s ability to implement quickly on our factory floor without costly integration services or associated time-lags. With this real-time visibility, we look forward to a significant boost in Overall Equipment Effectiveness, or OEE.”

“We are honored to be implementing MEMEX’s IIoT technology in the factory of a visionary manufacturing leader like Herb Homeyer,” said MEMEX CEO David McPhail. “With a correct focus on achieving business value versus simply counting connected devices, IIoT represents no less than the next industrial revolution. The previous three industrial revolutions were mechanization powered by steam engines in the 1800s, mass production powered by electricity and the assembly line in the early 1900s, and automation powered by computers in the late 1900s. Ushering in the fourth industrial revolution, IIoT is powered by the Internet and software applications like MERLIN.”

MEMEX’s flagship software product, MERLIN, is an IIoT shop-floor-to-top-floor communications platform that provides manufacturing analytics in real time. Specifically, MERLIN delivers a 10%-50% average productivity increase, and earns 20%-plus profit improvement based on just a 10% increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). It consistently achieves payback in less than four months with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) greater than 300%, and connects to any machine, old or new, utilizing native MTConnect, other protocols, or MERLIN hardware adapters for older machines.

About Homeyer Precision Manufacturing Co.

Homeyer Precision Manufacturing serves many different industries from aerospace and defense to oil and gas and energy production. At a time when many high-tech jobs are moving overseas, the company continues to grow in the USA — delivering precision parts for some of the world’s most demanding advanced manufacturing companies for 25 years. Homeyer has achieved this thanks to its ongoing investments in leading edge manufacturing equipment and technology, and its commitment to bringing on the most talented, dedicated, and highly skilled employees for every job.

About MEMEX Inc.

MEMEX is a leading Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology platform provider that delivers manufacturing productivity analytics. MERLIN software provides Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) efficiency metrics in real time, from shop-floor-to-top-floor. Specifically, MERLIN delivers a 10%-50% average productivity increase, and earns 20%-plus profit improvement based on just a 10% increase in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). It consistently achieves payback in less than four months with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) greater than 300%, and connects to any machine, old or new, utilizing native MTConnect other protocols or MERLIN hardware adapters for older machines. For more information, please visit: www.MemexOEE.com.

Media Contacts

Homeyer Precision Manufacturing Co.

Gretchen Homeyer, Director of Employee, Customer, & Community Relations

Phone: +1 636-433-2244
Email: ghomeyer@homeyertool.com

MEMEX Inc. 
David McPhail, CEO
Phone: 519-993-1114
Email: david.mcphail@MemexOEE.com

Nathan Rudyk VP Marketing
Phone: 905-635-1540 ext. 216
Email: nathan.rudyk@MemexOEE.com

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.

Discussing Technology With Dr. Vint Cerf

I am a very, very lucky person in life for a thousand different reasons.  As my mother has told me, "David, if you are ever given the choice between being good and being lucky, choose lucky every time."

A week ago Saturday I got lucky again. It is very lucky to have the chance for someone like Dave Edstrom to be able to speak with such an industry legend and icon such as Dr. Vint Cerf.  On Saturday, I was at Dulles Airport in the United Airlines lounge doing some work on my brand new fully loaded MacBook Pro (which runs at the speed of thought) when I look up and see Dr. Cerf and his wife come in and sit in the table right next to me.  My first thought was, don't bother Dr. Cerf, but it is probably ok to say hello to him as you have met him on a number of occasions.

When I said hello, we then ended up speaking for an half an hour on technology with most of the time on Internet of Things (IoT) and MTConnect.  Below is Dr. Cerf and me taken by Mrs. Cerf.

We ended up speaking for over a half an hour until he and his wife needed to head to their flight. I told Dr. Cerf the first time I met him in person and it was at Yorktown High School in Virginia.  Dr. Cerf was giving a talk on "Interplanetary IP" and I got there early to hopefully get him to sign my book.  I walk in the auditorium and Dr. Cerf is getting set up on stage.  I am the only one there besides him.  Since Sun was a casual place, I was wearing what I wore to work that day, jeans, a Sun shirt and a Java leather jacket.  Dr. Cerf sees me and says, "I need you to get up here and move this podium over here, put that table next to it."  I set down the book I was hoping Dr. Cerf would sign and did exactly what he asked.  After I do it, a guy walks in from the side door and says, "I am the janitor here, do you need anything or are you good?"  Dr. Cerf looks at me and says, "if he is the janitor, who are you?"  I said, "I am a Chief Technologist from Sun Microsystems Dr. Cerf and I was hoping to get you to sign this networking book."  I told Dr. Cerf that story again last Saturday and he just doubled over laughing as I reminded him of the story.  We both just laughed out loud together.  I told him, "you know Dr. Cerf, I have told that story HUNDREDS of time!".  Dr. Cerf said to me, "I bet you have Dave!"  

I said I would drop him a copy of my book, MTConnect: To Measure Is To Know, in the mail and wished Dr. Cerf and his wife safe travels.

I am very, very lucky to have had the chance to speak with someone like Dr. Cerf.

Below is a signed copy of the A protocol for packet Network intercommunication by Vinton G.Cerf and Robert E. Kahn in 1974 that I had both Dr. Cerf and Dr. Kahn sign at their Awards Ceremony many years ago and NO it will never be sold. npg has the other copy that I had them both sign.

The Daily Show on the Fallacy of "The Only Way To Stop a Bad Guy with a Gun is a Good Guy with a Gun"

Both of these episodes from the Daily Show on guns are well worth watching - Part 1 and Part 2

President Obama with Jerry Seinfeld in the Comedians in Cars

This is a must watch.  President Obama with Jerry Seinfeld in the Comedians in Cars in a classic 1963 Corvette Stingray.

The Movie "Concussion" and The Risk of Playing Football

Julie and I saw the movie "Concussion".

It is a great movie with a phenomenal performance by Will Smith.  What is amazing is how the NFL ends up looking exactly like big tobacco. Dr. Benett Omalu is a true hero who discovered CTE.

There is a recent example of a 24 year old who's mother had him tested for CTE when he died in a motorcycle accident.  He played football from age 7 to 17 and was in stage 1 of CTE.

I am not sure anyone needs to know more than what Coach Mike Ditka said on Real Sports to Bryant Gumbel "if he would want his child to play football?"

“I wouldn’t,” Gumbel says. “Would you?”

“Nope,” Ditka replies. “I wouldn't. And my whole life was football. I think the risk is worse than the reward. I really do.”

Football is a great game to watch, but I have to agree with Mike Ditka, the risk is not worth the reward.