Howdy from Texas,
This will be my last blog entry post for 2010 as I'll be on holiday / vacation the rest of the week. Not to fear, global Synchro32 support is here to assist you during my leave.
It's been a wildly successful year at Synchro32 with Simon and Richy doing the majority of the globe hopping and globe trotting have they done! Well done lads. The entire global Synchro32 team has had a very busy and prosperous year. Never is there a day when we go to work and have nothing to do. :)
2011 is already shaping up to be a bang up year!
From everyone at the Global Team Synchro32 - here's to you!
Until next year, I'll catch you on down the road..
Shane
ERP SOFTWARE SPECIFIC FOR THE CAST METAL INDUSTRY Cut your business costs, spend less time managing systems and more time focused on profit and growth!
Monday, 27 December 2010
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Window on the World
Just some ponderings today on the WWW - Wild West Web - the Internet. The portal to the world. It sure has changed the world and believe it or not I was a "late adopter" of the internet, so to speak. I really figured it was a fad, much like the CB radios of the 70's. Boy, was I wrong - never listen to me regarding stock picks or anything else - my crystal ball obviously has a big ole fat crack in it - more like a snow globe.
Anyway, one of the neat things about the internet is that it "opens up the world" in so many ways. One of the things that really enthralls me is webcams. Webcams give a glimpse into the happenings in some distant place. It allows one to "check the weather" and see what is going on. I think every city and town and village should have a webcam.
Some of my favorite webcams are in Omsk Russia (Siberia). Russia and the Russian people have always fascinated me. I keep doing my best to land Synchro32 a customer in the region so that I can tag along. My ultimate dream vacation is to travel from St. Petersburg all the way to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian railway. Along the way, I want to hop off and pickup the Trans-Mongolian railway so that I can say I have been to inner and outer Mongolia! Now, here is the kicker, I want to do this in the DEAD OF WINTER! Why? In order to understand the people of Russia, you have to understand the elements that they endure. Not many things "worse" than a Siberian winter. Of course, along the way I want to stop off at various locations and tour about. In Mongolia, there is also a ski resort that I would like to partake in!
It's really too bad that we didn't have the technology to send webcams to the moon during the lunar landings. It would be so cool to sit at my desk and view the lunar landscape and the "earth rise". Also, the space craft Voyager is about to be the first man made object to leave our universes, it would be so cool to have a webcam on that unit - of course when it was launched in 1977, there was not much in the way of computers and what computers there were took up entire floors of buildings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11988466
Here are three of my favorite webcams.
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam03.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam04.php
and here is a chart of webcams in "Oh Canada"
http://www.metcam.navcanada.ca/hb/index.jsp?lang=e
Little do my comrades at Synchro32 know it, but I've secretly installed webcams during my visits in their homes and in the offices! That way I can see what is going on :) My little window into the Synchro32 world.
The weather fascinates me, and through www.weatherunderground.com, I have a complete dash board setup of my favorites - places that mean something to me, places that I long to visit or have visited.
The West Texas Trans Pecos Big Bend Region is a favorite area of mine...
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/monitoring/air/monops/webcams.html
http://observatories.hodar.com/mcdonald/webcams.html
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/photosmultimedia/pj-cam.htm
Well, all is well with Synchro32, Simon right now is in
http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/gc.aspx?cam=1106&loc=Beltway_8-North_at_Aldine_Westfield&fr=6&ps=300 and will be traveling to http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/pcnet/1/show.html
Well, that's all for now. I'll be back at you again before the end of the year! Be careful out there and I'll see you on down the road... Shane
Anyway, one of the neat things about the internet is that it "opens up the world" in so many ways. One of the things that really enthralls me is webcams. Webcams give a glimpse into the happenings in some distant place. It allows one to "check the weather" and see what is going on. I think every city and town and village should have a webcam.
Some of my favorite webcams are in Omsk Russia (Siberia). Russia and the Russian people have always fascinated me. I keep doing my best to land Synchro32 a customer in the region so that I can tag along. My ultimate dream vacation is to travel from St. Petersburg all the way to Vladivostok on the Trans-Siberian railway. Along the way, I want to hop off and pickup the Trans-Mongolian railway so that I can say I have been to inner and outer Mongolia! Now, here is the kicker, I want to do this in the DEAD OF WINTER! Why? In order to understand the people of Russia, you have to understand the elements that they endure. Not many things "worse" than a Siberian winter. Of course, along the way I want to stop off at various locations and tour about. In Mongolia, there is also a ski resort that I would like to partake in!
It's really too bad that we didn't have the technology to send webcams to the moon during the lunar landings. It would be so cool to sit at my desk and view the lunar landscape and the "earth rise". Also, the space craft Voyager is about to be the first man made object to leave our universes, it would be so cool to have a webcam on that unit - of course when it was launched in 1977, there was not much in the way of computers and what computers there were took up entire floors of buildings.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11988466
Here are three of my favorite webcams.
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam03.php
http://abonent.omsk.skylink.ru/webcam04.php
and here is a chart of webcams in "Oh Canada"
http://www.metcam.navcanada.ca/hb/index.jsp?lang=e
Little do my comrades at Synchro32 know it, but I've secretly installed webcams during my visits in their homes and in the offices! That way I can see what is going on :) My little window into the Synchro32 world.
The weather fascinates me, and through www.weatherunderground.com, I have a complete dash board setup of my favorites - places that mean something to me, places that I long to visit or have visited.
The West Texas Trans Pecos Big Bend Region is a favorite area of mine...
http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/monitoring/air/monops/webcams.html
http://observatories.hodar.com/mcdonald/webcams.html
http://www.nps.gov/bibe/photosmultimedia/pj-cam.htm
Well, all is well with Synchro32, Simon right now is in
http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/gc.aspx?cam=1106&loc=Beltway_8-North_at_Aldine_Westfield&fr=6&ps=300 and will be traveling to http://www.wunderground.com/webcams/pcnet/1/show.html
Well, that's all for now. I'll be back at you again before the end of the year! Be careful out there and I'll see you on down the road... Shane
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Monday, 6 December 2010
The Law of the Farm...
The esteemed author Stephen Covey in his seminal books "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", "Principle Centered Leadership", and "First Things First" referenced the "Law of the Farm" or the "Law of the Harvest". Basically, this means that one can not take short cuts or "cram" to achieve results. The Law of the Farm must be obeyed.
Illustration. If you are a farmer and are lazy or forgetful or are into taking short cuts, "cramming for farming", or not using the correct tools and don't to prepare your fields you won't have a harvest in the all. If you don't prepare the fields in the Winter by plowing and preparing the soil,, fail to plant the crop in the Spring, neglect to tend the fields during the Summer, and then walk into the "bountiful fields" in the Fall only to find nothing to harvest - you decide you had better get with the program and quickly.
So, on Monday you prepare the fields, planting the seeds on Tuesday, tending and weeding and watering on Wednesday, and then when the farmer returns to the field on Thursday, nothing is there! You can't cheat the "Law of the Farm. There is no way around it.
This same principal applies to "real world" problems. I have a good friend who has always insisted on "cramming" for exams and trying to do things out of the natural order. He would stay up and pull "all nighters" hoping to make up for six weeks of not studying and doing homework. Even more, there are certain "foundations" that must be built upon before engaging in higher orders. One can not take Calculus before having a firm grasp of Analytical Geometry which in turn requires a through understanding of Trigonometry which is formed by the foundation of Algebra.
Lim x --> 0- f((Sin 4x**2) / (Tan 3x +6 x * 9x)
(that is the limit of x as it approaches zero from negative infinity)
What brings this all up is that for the past many months I have off and on been struggling with a "simple" personal home project that had gotten out of control with cost overruns, material costs out of sight, with labor approaching infinity. We are taking about a project that had gotten so far out of control that the US Federal Government would be proud of! I was putting up some metal stair banister railings outside and needed to drill through seventy year concrete to place the concrete bolts. I only needed to drill sixteen 3" deep 5/8" holes. Concrete, unlike many things, continues to harden for almost infinity. Generally, the older it is the harder it is. I was violating the law of the farm and I knew it - and I kept on keeping on. Running into a brick wall, or concrete steps, over and over. Someone told me, I don't know if it's true or not, that the concrete in the mammoth legendary Hoover Dam in Nevada is still hardening.
I started out with just a simple plain ole drill with some concrete bits. No bueno. Not even a dent. So, I borrowed a hammer drill, no bueno, not powerful enough and went through several expensive tungsten carbide bits. Ok, throw money at the problem and the problem goes away. I went and purchased a reasonable hammer drill and more bits. Well, a Brazillian drill bits later and after researching on the net for suggestions such as using concrete nails to get through a hard spot, I was still pretty much at hole one.
I'm not one to punt. If I was a football coach 4th down and 98 it would still be a running or passing play - a hail Mary. No quitters allowed. So, I pulled out all the stops, threw more money at the problem and I'm pleased to report that "Mission Accomplished". I purchased what I should have to start with, and I knew it to start with, was to get a massive concrete drill and the expensive bits that go with it, and get the job done. I was trying to take a "short cut" to achieve results w/o paying the price. At the end of the day, it cost me a lot more in time, money, and effort. Let me tell you what, this 8amp specialized concrete hammer drill drilled through that concrete like it was Swiss cheese that had been on the kitchen counter for a week during the hot Texas summer. Within thirty minutes the holes were drilled, the railing was up, the bolts tightened, and the project virtually completed. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED". It was almost too easy!
There is no telling how much I spent just in materials for drill bits, new drills, alternative methods, and my "free" labor. The reason I am telling you this is because as I was drilling the holes yesterday I was reminded of the "Law of the Farm". If I had of done it right to start with, I wouldn't be writing this!
So, with your ERP/MRP software at your metalcasting facility - are you violating the "Law of the Farm" by not using specific software for the metalcasting industry? Are you limping along with some generic software system or worse yet - no system - trying to manage your order entry, scheduling, production, etc. and hitting a concrete wall day in and day out? If so, seriously consider the Synchro32 solution. Don't use just a simple drill for your ERP/MRP needs, use the Cadillac concrete drill to get your "Mission Accomplished".
Till next time, see you on down the road...
Illustration. If you are a farmer and are lazy or forgetful or are into taking short cuts, "cramming for farming", or not using the correct tools and don't to prepare your fields you won't have a harvest in the all. If you don't prepare the fields in the Winter by plowing and preparing the soil,, fail to plant the crop in the Spring, neglect to tend the fields during the Summer, and then walk into the "bountiful fields" in the Fall only to find nothing to harvest - you decide you had better get with the program and quickly.
So, on Monday you prepare the fields, planting the seeds on Tuesday, tending and weeding and watering on Wednesday, and then when the farmer returns to the field on Thursday, nothing is there! You can't cheat the "Law of the Farm. There is no way around it.
This same principal applies to "real world" problems. I have a good friend who has always insisted on "cramming" for exams and trying to do things out of the natural order. He would stay up and pull "all nighters" hoping to make up for six weeks of not studying and doing homework. Even more, there are certain "foundations" that must be built upon before engaging in higher orders. One can not take Calculus before having a firm grasp of Analytical Geometry which in turn requires a through understanding of Trigonometry which is formed by the foundation of Algebra.
Lim x --> 0- f((Sin 4x**2) / (Tan 3x +6 x * 9x)
(that is the limit of x as it approaches zero from negative infinity)
What brings this all up is that for the past many months I have off and on been struggling with a "simple" personal home project that had gotten out of control with cost overruns, material costs out of sight, with labor approaching infinity. We are taking about a project that had gotten so far out of control that the US Federal Government would be proud of! I was putting up some metal stair banister railings outside and needed to drill through seventy year concrete to place the concrete bolts. I only needed to drill sixteen 3" deep 5/8" holes. Concrete, unlike many things, continues to harden for almost infinity. Generally, the older it is the harder it is. I was violating the law of the farm and I knew it - and I kept on keeping on. Running into a brick wall, or concrete steps, over and over. Someone told me, I don't know if it's true or not, that the concrete in the mammoth legendary Hoover Dam in Nevada is still hardening.
I started out with just a simple plain ole drill with some concrete bits. No bueno. Not even a dent. So, I borrowed a hammer drill, no bueno, not powerful enough and went through several expensive tungsten carbide bits. Ok, throw money at the problem and the problem goes away. I went and purchased a reasonable hammer drill and more bits. Well, a Brazillian drill bits later and after researching on the net for suggestions such as using concrete nails to get through a hard spot, I was still pretty much at hole one.
I'm not one to punt. If I was a football coach 4th down and 98 it would still be a running or passing play - a hail Mary. No quitters allowed. So, I pulled out all the stops, threw more money at the problem and I'm pleased to report that "Mission Accomplished". I purchased what I should have to start with, and I knew it to start with, was to get a massive concrete drill and the expensive bits that go with it, and get the job done. I was trying to take a "short cut" to achieve results w/o paying the price. At the end of the day, it cost me a lot more in time, money, and effort. Let me tell you what, this 8amp specialized concrete hammer drill drilled through that concrete like it was Swiss cheese that had been on the kitchen counter for a week during the hot Texas summer. Within thirty minutes the holes were drilled, the railing was up, the bolts tightened, and the project virtually completed. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED". It was almost too easy!
There is no telling how much I spent just in materials for drill bits, new drills, alternative methods, and my "free" labor. The reason I am telling you this is because as I was drilling the holes yesterday I was reminded of the "Law of the Farm". If I had of done it right to start with, I wouldn't be writing this!
So, with your ERP/MRP software at your metalcasting facility - are you violating the "Law of the Farm" by not using specific software for the metalcasting industry? Are you limping along with some generic software system or worse yet - no system - trying to manage your order entry, scheduling, production, etc. and hitting a concrete wall day in and day out? If so, seriously consider the Synchro32 solution. Don't use just a simple drill for your ERP/MRP needs, use the Cadillac concrete drill to get your "Mission Accomplished".
Till next time, see you on down the road...
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Starting the 4th...
Howdy from Texas. You know, the land of stage coaches, mail by pony express, ten gallon hats, everyone drives a horse, etc. Three years ago today I started my journey with Synchro32! It's been a great ride. So happy to have landed here. After Texas Foundries Citation Lufkin started winding down and let me flee, I figured my days in the metalcasting industry segment were over! Fortunately, that was not the case. Once you have the smell of core and molding sand in your blood, it's hard to shake it. Plus, the fascination of seeing liquid metal... Here's to the next three years!
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