Thursday, December 17, 2009

Resting over the holidays

This will be the last Blog for 2009. The Blogger is ready for some vacation, especially after the grueling and not so pleasant weeks spent on this year's Annual Economic Review. So I'll wish you a very happy holiday season and extend my wishes for a brighter and more prosperous new year. This will be the last Blog for 2009. The Blogger is ready for some vacation, especially after the grueling and not so pleasant weeks spent on this year’s Annual Economic Review. So I'll wish you a very happy holiday season and extend my wishes for a brighter and more prosperous new year.

I was attending an Organizing Committee meeting for next year's SALA (Seminar on Advanced Laser Applications – East Hartford; April 14–15) event. ILS is the exclusive media source for this two-day meeting that presents the latest applications for industrial lasers in manufacturing applications. Paul Denney (CCAT) asked me to begin thinking about a new session to be held at next year's ICALEO. The concept, which evolved from some old-timers conversations at this year's event, is to identify the weirdest, most outrageous application request for using an industrial laser. My contribution was the use of an Nd:glass laser to destroy a gland located behind the eye of a male shrimp to cause the shrimp to grow to immense size because its libido was destroyed as all it did was eat. There is a lot more to this story, which I'll save for the session in Anaheim (September 27-30).

When you get a few laser pioneers together the air is filled with stories about wild ideas on how to use laser energy: debeaking chickens, slicing cheese, harvesting hyacinths, etc. The anecdotes go on and on and many provide a good laugh, while others actually made it to the prototype stage before failing. The impetus on my part stemmed from my background research for the January ILS article referred to below. Many of these strange application requests came to mind as I reviewed my files.

So, if you have a candidate for the wildest industrial laser application send it along to Paul Denney (pdenney@ccat.us). A committee will pick the mot hilarious of these and they will be shared with ICALEO attendees at the Anaheim meetings. ILS will select some of the top ones and we’ll publish them on our Website after the Anaheim event.

Challenge Dave

Come on all you puzzlers, time is running out on the Challenge Dave contest. Here's the game, pick the ten most important industrial laser material processing applications that occurred during the first 50 years of the technology and you can win a $100 American Express gift card. I'll give you a hint, one of them is sheet metal cutting, now only need to guess 9 more.

Just send your list, no justification needed, to me by email (belforte@pennwell.com). The contest closes January 18 so e-mails must predate this.



Tales from the past

For all the many Federalist fans that have asked about the Town Crier , there is news. Through a welcome donation from the Cooper, the Town Crier now appears on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays shouting the Noon news from a rowboat anchored in the middle of the river.

It's not ideal but it is a short term solution because the Cooper is rather flush this time of year with all the crops in and the farmers who are busy making cider, placing orders for more wooden barrels, he has been doing quite well financially.

Different story with the Merchant as his stock of tea hasn't diminished much since he cut back on his Town Crier funding. He hasn't had much sympathy from the townsfolk as they have another beverage as a replacement - the Farmer's cider.

The Town Crier's three day per week schedule is due to change as winter has reared its ugly head in New England and the river may freeze over any day now. The Town Crier mentioned the weather in his Wednesday news. Seems that El Nino is acting up again and that bodes well for the Northern states as it is expected to be milder. Good news for him though as the ice may be thin enough for his row boat to crack through.

So, indecision remained the order of the day among the other possible Town Crier sponsors who just weren't ready to ante up enough to bring the Crier back full time. However as a Christmas gift they did pass the hat and raised enough to buy the Crier some Riocola drops so that he wouldn’t get too hoarse shouting into the Winter winds.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A message of hope

It's the holiday season and Mother Nature helped to make it look so by dumping a few inches of the white stuff on us over the weekend, to be followed by more later in the week. It's the holiday season and Mother Nature helped to make it look so by dumping a few inches of the white stuff on us over the weekend, to be followed by more later in the week.

The news from the retailers has been good both from in-store and on-line sales, although the store owners never seem to be satisfied, understandably because holiday sales can represent more than 50% of annual revenues.

If they are looking to me to help out they are out of luck as my wife and I decided several years ago to confine our gift giving to donating to our family's favorite charities. This makes the recipients and the charities happy and us happy to be able to help out.

At a dinner one evening last week, my wife's cousin raised the issue of who to choose among the charities when there are so many new ones to consider, many brought about by the global recession. It was a good point as was the issue of what does one do if they have been impacted by the recession. 'Charity begins at home' seems to be the answer, but it's not too satisfying when you think the issues of the charities haven't changed--cancer in children has not been solved nor has housing for the disadvantaged or food for those in desperate need. It's a tough call requiring one to search their hearts for an answer.

This brings me to my favorite subject--the state of manufacturing today, mainly in the USA. Prodded by the opposition and the general malaise in the job market that seems to be on everyone's mind (the stock market rally on Friday was due to improved unemployment numbers), the current administration is spouting a lot of rhetoric--increase spending on shovel-ready infrastructure (thought this was set from day one), switch some of the bailout money being paid back to improve lending to beef up small businesses (now that’s original, instead of reducing debt spend it a second time), and my favorite, stimulate spending by the consumer for housing, durable goods, and Christmas gifts!

I admit to not being privy to discussions going on in Congress that deal with getting the U.S. back on the road to recovery (read this as more jobs), but I guess it's a hot button item as the candidates for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in my home state are all promising us that if elected they will go to Washington and straighten out the politicians with their new and fresh thinking.

That sly old devil Bill Clinton had it right, and still does, "it's the economy, stupid."

And it doesn't take an army of lobbyists to get that message across.

How can we start a new budget item, increased troops for Afghanistan, when we have already busted the budget thanks to Iraq, both places where we were not and are not wanted. Could it be the lobbyists for the defense industry are having their way? Charlie Wilson's War redux.

Experts say that more than 60% of jobs are created by small businesses and I believe it. That's why I have been such a strong advocate for job shops in North America. I believe that small business can change the course of the economy faster than dumping more dollars on a new aircraft carrier which, while a good idea, takes years before the money flows into new employment.

A small businessman can get money flowing into the community fast, money that gets spent fast and has wide ranging implications in the supply chain. When the President convened the thinkers in Washington last week the small businesses were represented by their own lobbyist who, while important enough to be recognized, is actually just another lobbyist.

We have a Commerce Department that is one of the most ineffective bureaucratic organizations I know of, but it is there and functioning and should be able to move impact dollars quickly.

So one of my holiday messages to you, to be passed on to all, is--it's the economy, stupid! Not health care, not Afghanistan, not the failing banks--it's the economy first and foremost and then those others can be dealt with.