The last one is called Jacob's Ladder! ;-)
(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal and Itzchak Ochayon)
Showing posts with label Innovation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Innovation. Show all posts
July 12, 2019
Awesome Teapots@Renwick Gallery
The last one is called Jacob's Ladder! ;-)
(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal and Itzchak Ochayon)
June 27, 2019
Is Beer A Color?
It's titled "Colors".
And it has the typical ones you'd expect: blue, red, green, yellow, orange, purple, black, white, grey, brown, and tan.
But thrown into the mix is beer (and Summer)--maybe these go together!
Perhaps, someone had a little too much beer when asked about colors.
On second thought, maybe beer is a color. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 3, 2019
What Are The Chances for IT Project Success?
In one of the class exercises, one of the students presented something like this bell-shaped distribution curve in explaining a business case for an IT Project.
The student took a nice business approach and utilized a bell-shaped curve distribution to explain to his executives the pros and cons of a project.
Basically, depending on the projects success, the middle (1-2 standard deviations, between 68-95% chance), the project will yield a moderate level of efficiencies and cost-savings or not.
Beyond that:
- To the left are the downside risks for significant losses--project failure, creating dysfunction, increased costs, and operational risks to the mission/business.
- To the right is the upside potential for big gains--innovations, major process reengineering, automation gains, and competitive advantages.
This curve is probably a fairly accurate representation based on the high IT project failure rate in most organizations (whether they want to admit it or not).
I believe that with:
- More user-centric enterprise architecture planning on the front-end
- Better IT governance throughout
- Agile development and scrum management in execution
that we can achieve ever higher project success rates along the big upside potential that comes with it!
We still have a way to go to improve, but the bell-curve helps explains what organizations are most of the time getting from their investments. ;-)
(Source Graphic: Adapted by Andy Blumenthal from here)
April 12, 2019
Gotta Love FANUC
I love FANUC industrial robots.
They are made by a secretive company in Japan and they are #1 in workplace automation worldwide!
They have over half a million installed industrial robots around the world.
Their robots are on assembly lines making everything from "cars and smartphones to beverages and drugs." They also are in Tesla and Amazon...so you know they are pretty much everywhere.
FANUC has customers in 108 countries supported by 263 service locations.
Their robots are made by...that's right other robots...80% is automated.
These robots are strong, fast, and precise, and they can do dangerous work.
This company is the future of jobs, productivity, efficiency.
But of course, people are still the brains behind the brawn. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
January 10, 2019
Hyundai's Great All-Terrain Concept Car
Very impressed with the Hyundai concept "Walking Car."
It can drive, walk, and climb.
I heard that this thing can even climb over walls and jump over gaps!
(Ah, I'm not going to say anything about border security with this--let's just hope the bad guys don't get this).
This is the closest that we've come to Hollywood's Transformers.
This is much more than a vehicle for search and rescue--this is ALL-TERRAIN!
Great job Hyundai--I'd love to test drive this beauty! ;-)
October 11, 2018
Blood Libels Unabated
Unfortunately, the anti-Semites continue their refrain of "The Jews control the world" from Wall Street to Main Street to K Street.
But what they are completely missing are the true secrets of Jewish creativity and thought.
I hope you will read the article to learn about Jewish values and our faith. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 16, 2018
Breaking The Paradigm
"But we've always done it that way."
They told me a funny story about the lady that made the ham with the head and tail ends always cut off.
One day, her daughter asked, "Why mom do you make the ham with the head and tail ends always cut off?"
The mother answers and says because "My mother always made it that way!"
So they went to her mother and ask the question and they get the same answer again.
Finally, they went to her great grandmother and ask, "Why do you always make the ham with the head and tail ends cut off?"
And the old lady takes a breath, pauses, and says, "Because, we didn't have a pan big enough to fit the whole ham!"
Just thought this was a great lesson on critical thinking and also on "asking why."
Change can be brought about by questioning underlying assumptions and historical ways of doing things and bringing an open mind and fresh light to it. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
July 12, 2018
Israel To Space
So proud of Israel's planning to join the Big 3 countries (U.S., Russia, and China) to land on the moon.
Amazing what even a relatively small in size and new nation like Israel can set their sights on and please G-d accomplish with G-d's help.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
June 11, 2018
Contrarian on Apple
Historically, I love Apple products--truly.
But since Steve Jobs, Apple has done virtually nothing!
They are losing the battle for common sense priced products.
They are losing the battle on innovation.
Think for a second what has Apple come out with that is "WOW" in the last few years--either in terms of new product or design.
Do you care anything about Siri?
Are you in love with their Apple Watch?
Do you think much of their new iPhone X?
What about the computers--same old, same old?
I am still using the iPhone 7plus and have no intention to upgrade anytime soon.
See the picture above, this is Apple's idea of innovation.
It's the new Mac Pro -- virtually the same as their iMac Pro, as their store rep explained to me--except it's shaped like a tall and weird version of the Amazon Alexa personal assistant.
BTW, you still need to attach a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.
Are you impressed NOT?
Apple as a brand used to mean the latest and greatest.
Even now, I am still drawn to Apple products, just because I am conditioned to think of it as the best!
But is it still the best and is it worth the premium price?
Apple still has me as a customer and I am still a big fan of what they have done in the past.
But they better do something amazing again and now, because I think their stock is in for a mighty big and painful tumble if we don't see the old Apple again soon. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
May 1, 2018
Information Is Power
"Everything is a record, record, recordCan everything in life really be reduced to lines of records, with fields of data in tables of information?
in a table, table, table."
This is the information age!
Analytics and Big Data rule!
Knowledge is power!
In any conflict, we seek information dominance and supremacy!
Artificial intelligence is the future!
Records are unique with their own sys.id.
Creativity and innovation are also records in the table--even if they are the one in a million.
The more records and tables--the more dots and connections between them--the more intelligence we can glean.
Yes, everything is a record, record, record in a table, table, table. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
April 22, 2018
Sugarloaf Crafts Festival
I love this time of year when the weather gets nice and we can do more outdoor activities.
Today, we took the opportunity to go to the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival.
There were so many vendors with artistic works in metal, glass, art, jewelry, leather, photography, pottery, and more.
Everyone seemed to be looking for those one-of-a-kind special pieces.
I did manage to find a very special colorful menorah, which I had my eye on since last year, and which I was glad that I waited for because the artisan made it even better and more beautiful than before.
Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and most things were an easy pass on, but some things definitely caught my eye and attention.
The photo here was one of them where the artist was selling pots, and he set up this plastic chicken--as if the chicken was set and ready to go into the oven.
Creativity can definitely get weird, but everyone likes a standout. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumethal)
April 20, 2018
Understanding Genius
I see things that I don't know what they are.
I meet people that I don't understand what they do.
But in all cases, I am in awe of the smart and good people and the work they are doing to advance us.
Here was an example this week in randomly meeting someone and starting up a conversation:
Andy: Hi. I'm Andy. What do you do here?Get the picture.
Him: I'm [so and so]. I do neutron scattering.
Andy: [Gulp followed by big smile] I know absolutely nothing about that.
Him: Well, what do you do?
Andy: I'm doing process engineering and enterprise service management.
Him: [Smile] I know absolutely nothing about that.
One for the books right.
In another instance, when asked what their group does, someone leans into me and goes:
"We fix sh*t."
I could tell he meant it.
And you know what--I absolutely believed him. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
April 19, 2018
Net-Zero Energy House
As its name implies the residential home makes as much energy as it uses.
It is run by one of NIST's 7 laboratories, the Engineering Lab's Energy and Environment Division.
The 2,700 square foot home is super-insulated and hyper-energy efficient.
It runs on only 12,000-13,000 Kilowatt per year compared to a typical home that guzzles 40,000 KW.
You can see the array of solar panels on the roof and there is a two-way exchange of energy to/from the grid as available/needed.
There is also solar thermal water heater.
The home simulates a family of 4 living there cooking, bathing, watching TV, etc.
There are 600 sensors inside the house that monitor everything.
The garage maintains the computers and controls for the research.
Overall, I was very proud to see the wonderful scientific research being done here.
It was truly impressive and good for the nation and the planet. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Make The Right Move To Agile Education
Generally, we teach by strict curriculum forcing children to learn what we consider "the fundamentals".
But they are anything but that and kids come out not knowing how to do the very basics or survive in life.
Test scores have not been improving--that's not the student's fault, but the education system, which cannot force feed what students minds are rejecting as "old school" and out of touch.
Not only don't we fish for them, but we don't even teach them to fish.
We throw at them esoteric subjects to memorize, spit back, and forget.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
We waste years of their life and the productivity and creativity of society.
Ever really wonder why GDP growth is only around 2% despite all the rapid technology that we are rolling out.
It is just not drones that we are rolling off the assembly line, but human automatons as well.
This is where agile education comes into aspect.
Like with software development, we can gather requirements and build, and then show the customer, and then refine again and again.
We let the development grow and mature naturally as the code takes shape.
No more years of development and voila here's something for you, and with the customer exclaiming loudly, "What the F*** is that!"
So too with education, we need to follow the spirit and train of thought naturally.
Where we let the students guide the teacher to what their questions are, what they are interested in learning about, where their creative juices take them, and what is relevant.
Rigidity in the education system leaves our students as dead ends, and not as critical thinkers and innovators.
We have a dearth of leaders we can look up to and a plethora of people that couldn't survive the Spring without their Visa/Mastercard.
Ever wonder why so many of our great innovators are college dropouts who built their companies in their garages instead of occupying a seat in a classroom and filling their heads with teacher rhetoric.
Most people learn by seeing, internalizing, and doing useful things for themselves, not by listening and violently rejecting the irrelevant in their lives.
Let us release the choking reigns of our education system.
Teachers should be able to follow the questions and interests and natural evolution of thought and creativity and wonderment with their students.
The mark of learning is not the answers on a standardized test, but the light bulb of critical thinking and innovation from our progeny.
Exploration and discovery and skills to be self-sufficient and survive are far more beneficial than what we are giving our children today.
We owe them a better education, but we are not delivering because we are the automatons of yesteryear.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
March 21, 2018
Measurement And Standards Are Our Friends
And measurement is the foundation of scientific research and creating standards.
Scientific research and measurement are about exploration, discovery, and innovation.
Further, it is about finding the facts; it is objective; it is truth; it is essential to maintaining integrity.
Standards also help to ensure dependability, because there is a common reference and you know what you are getting.
A great true story that demonstrates the importance of measurements and standards is the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.
This was the third worst urban inferno in American history.
It destroyed over 1,500 building across 140 acres.
Fire engines responded from as far as New York and Virginia.
But the problem was that they invariably could not help.
Why?
Because their fire hose couplings could not fit on the Baltimore fire hydrants--they were not standardized.
Without standards, we don't have interoperability.
We don't have a reference that everyone can go by.
It's as if we're all working on our own desert islands.
This defeats the power in numbers that make us together greater than the sum of our individual parts.
Science and technology help us advance beyond just ourselves and today.
Measurement and standardization help us to build a better and stronger society. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 20, 2017
Hammer and Nail
"To a hammer, everything looks like a nail."
We try to solve fresh daily problems, yet everything we are going through is seen through our preset filters and mindsets.
In many cases, we are simply and undeniably biased, mistakenly believing that what worked in the past or for particular challenges will always work in the future and for all our problems.
We stereotype people and races and see them as either "the good guys" or "the bad guys"--but there's no grey in there to further differentiate.
Also, we work in a comfortable zone of blind routine thinking that we wish it's all as simple as wash, rinse, and repeat.
But while some die-hard habits and lessons learned in life are very valuable and should be mentally recorded and referenced, seeing life through a single, or even a few handy-dandy, filters can prove disastrous when things or times change.
For example, one big criticism of our dealing in Washington is that:
"Politicians, like generals, have a tendency to fight the last war."
Instead, if we evaluate the nuances of each person and particular situation, we can work to get a more detailed evaluation, and potentially be able to fine-tune approaches for what needs to be done, and how, with each and every one, accordingly.
Chucking a batman belt approach to just using whatever tools are immediately available, can facilitate a broader and more creative approach to problem-solving.
Sure, to a certain degree, we are creatures of habit--and we intuitively rely on what's worked in the past, and reject and shun what hasn't--but past experiences do not necessarily foretell future successes.
If we don't stay agile and resilient, we can easily get blown away by the situation or the competition.
There is always a new challenge to test us and someone coming up who may be better, faster, or stronger that wants to try and take us on or down.
A shotgun approach, in lieu of a more precise surgical strike, can result in a lot of collateral damage and maybe even missing the mark altogether.
Think, think, think.
Focus on what needs to get done--apply lessons learned as applicable, but also look for new sources and methods to build a bigger and more versatile tool chest.
In the walking dead, a hammer to the head works fairly well on all Zombies, but sometimes there are too many zombies in the hoard or even more dangerous living people and situations to attend to. ;-)
(Source Photo: here with attribution to stevepb)
November 18, 2017
Invasion of Dinosaurs
First one is standing next to the checkout line in Whole Foods in Maryland.
Second one is actually on someone's terrace overlooking the beach in Fort Lauderdale.
Third one is the real McCoy from the Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Certainly, dinosaurs aren't cute and cuddly--even the plush ones from Whole Foods--they'd eat you and I for dinner if they could!
So why do we gravitate to relics from the Ice Age past?
Perhaps, just like looking forward to Aliens from outer space, the dinosaurs represent an important historical link for us, and thus anchor us in a much larger perspective of time and space.
In a way, it all points to the dichotomy between us as humans with great--almost endless--potential, and yet at the same time, how small we are relative to the enormous dinosaurs that roamed the earth of yesteryear as well as the distinct possibility of mighty extraterrestrials that we may someday (soon) encounter from outer space.
From this context, I guess what's really amazing is that we, as a people, are still here!
Despite our bad habits and unsustainable living, we continue to innovate our way out of own messes of greed, conflict, contagion, pollution, and resource depletion, and create a future far beyond what destroyed our predecessors or even what may come from current or potential future foes.
Like the economy, we think we can grow ourselves out of all our troubles--and who knows, maybe we can if we can continue to stay at least one or two steps ahead of all the challenges and threats--but, at the back (or front) of our minds is what if we can't or don't? ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 28, 2017
No Smokestacks Here
It goes like this:
"There are no smokestacks here, only people!"
We can't treat "human capital" in our organizations the way we treat industrial/capital assets in our factories.
The industrial revolution--along with the sweatshops and smokestacks--have been overtaken by the service and information age.
G-d has blessed us with an abundance of wonderful material things that can now be largely produced by automation and robotization--letting us focus more than ever on developing our people, nurturing their ideas, and realizing their innovations.
In our organizations, the human assembly line has given way to thinkers and innovators.
Sure, we have to build things and sustain ourselves, but the people behind the things are what counts and not just the things themselves.
We've grown from heartless slave labor and sweatshops to emotionally intelligent, compassionate, and thriving humans beings in the workspace--or so we strive for it to be. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
August 20, 2017
Solar Eclipse 2017
Everyone is excited about this eclipse that is cutting a path across the U.S.
The last one that did this was almost 100 years ago in 1918.
It's a magnificent thing to see two amazing and large celestial spheres like this literally cross paths.
"Hi sun."
"Hello moon."
"Nice to meet you!"
We are so small in the realm of these universal things...it's almost funny how big we think we are.
Yet, we have so much ambition and desire to be bigger--to solve problems, innovate, and delve into the depths of the sea and to the far reaches of heavens.
You can blot out the sun, but we'll still figure out all the details on precisely when, where, and which goo goo goggles to wear so we don't hurt our eyes. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
June 6, 2017
Perception Is Reality
Or maybe it's the other way around that some creative person looked at an elephant and thought:
"Oh my that trunk of his would make a great clothing hook."
Life mimics art and art imitates life.
And that is flattery both ways.
Either way perception is reality. ;-)
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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