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September 29, 2006
MCM Forward
I can't decide if this is insane, or awesome. I think it's both.
August 7, 2006Posted by PJ at 07:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Marine Corps Marathon to Run in Iraq
MCM Forward offers deployed military members chance to earn coveted title of MCM Finisher
QUANTICO, VA- The Marine Corps Marathon, in conjunction with the Marines of the Multi National Force West, announced today the first-ever satellite running of the annual event. Touted as the Marine Corps Marathon Forward, service members from throughout Iraq will gather to participate in the 26.2 mile test of endurance in 80 degree temperatures. More than 6,000 miles from the Arlington, VA finish line, the deployed Marines will earn their place as a MCM finisher by completing the event in the Al Anbar province.
“More than 22,000 Marines are deployed to the area of operations, and even more from other branches,” said Rick Nealis, MCM Race Director. “Even during lengthy and sometimes stressful deployments, they continue to embody the values of physical excellence and fitness. The MCM Forward offers them a training goal at no cost to the individual runner, to keep motivated while proudly serving our country far from home.”
More than just lending its name, the MCM is contributing to the operation of MCM Forward. The MCM will provide event guidance and logistical support including race bibs, t-shirts, medals, awards and patches. Official finishers of the MCM Forward will receive a medal upon their completion, plus a certificate and finisher CD. MCM sponsors have also pledged to support the event by sending Jelly Belly Sport Beans, ZonePerfect bars, Tylenol 8 hour and USAA finisher coins to the race.
For more information Marines deployed to the region should contact their local MWR or the Multi National Force – West Public Affairs Officer in Iraq, Major Megan McClung at megan.mcclung@cemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil. Media interested in covering the event should contact Beth Cline, MCM Public Relations Coordinator at elizabeth.cline@usmc.mil.
Voted “Best Marathon for Families” by HerSports Magazine, the Marine Corps Marathon continues a combined tradition of dedication, sportsmanship and patriotism. Since its inception, over 300,000 civilian and military runners from all walks of life have participated, deservingly earning the event its nickname “The People’s Marathon.” The 31st Marine Corps Marathon will be held on October 29, 2006.
Visit marinemarathon.com for more information. For media information, contact Beth Cline, Marine Corps Marathon Public Relations Coordinator at (703) 432-1165, or Elizabeth.Cline@usmc.mil. No federal or Marine Corps endorsement implied.
September 28, 2006
Small Innovations
(Cross-Posted from HedgeStop.com)
Innovation doesn’t have to be huge, it doesn’t have to revolutionize an industry, or change the strategic direction of a company. Sometimes the most striking innovation can be a small thing that simply shifts the traditional thinking.
Here’s an example:
An article in the New York Times earlier this week, "Behind the Wheel: 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo: Kinetic Art That Really Moves You," reviewed the new Porsche 911 Turbo:
(For those of you wondering: at $124,000 base, I’m a few dollars short.)
The review was a normal car review, until the author, Ted West, wrote the following:
"Central to harnessing the Turbo’s explosive thrust is all-wheel drive, and that was never truer than with this new model. With all four wheels driving, the Turbo’s 3,572-pound curb weight (with the Tiptronic S five-speed automatic, or 3,495 pounds with a six-speed manual) zaps to 60 m.p.h. in 3.4 seconds. [...] Startlingly, the automatic is quicker than the manual, which reaches 60 in a turtle-ish 3.7 seconds."
Most of you probably aren’t car nuts, (I’m not either, but the automatic/manual debate is a running argument in my family), so here’s The Big Deal: Automatic transmissions have never been faster than manual transmissions, and it’s one of the main reasons auto enthusiasts are usually huge proponents of manual over automatic.
It’s a small component of a large product, but the innovation is apparent, and likely shifts the way cars will be manufactured for the rest of time.
What other "small innovations" can you think of?
Posted by PJ at 12:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 26, 2006
IBM Gets Funny
From an article in Slate:
The white-collar temple IBM is usually not a source of pop-cultural memes. But this reputation may be receding, thanks to a trio of comedic videos topping the charts on YouTube. Shot in the mock-doc style of The Office, these parodies of internal training videos feature a group of sales executives as they pump themselves up with canned corporate wisdom and hawk million-dollar servers by cold-calling random names from the phone book. In other words, they make fun of IBM at its stodgy core. And while Steve Carell's job is probably safe, what is interesting about these shorts is that they were made by IBM using actual company executives, not paid actors or comedians.
Lesson One:
Lesson Two:
Lesson Three:
Posted by PJ at 12:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 22, 2006
Cavalry Broadswords Of The Largest Size
The duel that could have changed the nation: 164 years ago this morning, a young state senator from Illinois named Abe Lincoln crossed the Mississippi River to the aptly-named Bloody Island to duel James Shields, the State Auditor. Lincoln and others (including Mary Todd), under assumed names, had written a number of harsh letters to the editor of Sangamo Journal criticizing Shields, as well as calling into question his abilities with the ladies. When Shields found out who was behind the letters, and Lincoln refused an immediate retraction, Shields called for the duel. It was to be held in a pit 10 feet wide and 12 feet deep. A plank was to separate the pit in the middle, and neither man was allowed to cross to the other side. The weapon to be used? "Cavalry Broadswords of the largest size."
Word had spread of the duel, and hundreds of people swarmed the banks of the river that morning to be among the first to learn who had fallen. When it was all over, "a crowd of anxious people awaited on the banks of the river to find out what had happened. Several people screamed and one woman fainted when they spotted a corpse in one of the boats..."
Posted by PJ at 05:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 20, 2006
Shooting The Moon
(Cross-Posted from HedgeSpot.com)
Orteig got us across the Atlantic, and created the airline business in the process. The X PRIZE got us into space, and Richard Branson is looking to keep us there. What's next?
Governments are using this type of open source innovation, too. It's a way to save money, advance science, and help the general welfare of the people. NASA is getting on the bandwagon now with Centennial Challenges. They are paying out between $50K and $250K for each innovation. "Centennial Challenges is NASA's program of prize contests to stimulate innovation and competition in solar system exploration and ongoing NASA mission areas. By making awards based on actual achievements, instead of proposals, Centennial Challenges seeks novel solutions to NASA's mission challenges from non-traditional sources of innovation in academia, industry and the public."
(Don't laugh. These are the people who brought us Tang, Velcro, and astronaut ice cream.)
So what's NASA looking to do?
Astronaut Glove Challenge
The Astronaut Glove Challenge is designed to promote the development of glove joint technology, resulting in a highly dexterous and flexible glove that can be used by astronauts over long periods of time for space or planetary surface excursions.
Beam Power Challenge
The Beam Power Challenge is designed to promote the development of new power distribution technologies. These technologies can be applied to many aspects of space exploration, including surface- or space-based point-to-point power transmission or delivery for robotic and/or human expeditions to planetary surfaces. This challenge may also support the development of far-term space infrastructure concepts such as space elevators and solar power satellites.
Lunar Lander Challenge
The Lunar Lander Challenge is designed to accelerate technology developments supporting the commercial creation of a vehicle capable of ferrying cargo or humans back and forth between lunar orbit and the lunar surface. Such a vehicle would have direct application to NASA’s space exploration goals as well as the personal spaceflight industry. Additionally, the prize will help industry build new vehicles and develop the operational capacity to operate quick turnaround vertical take-off, vertical landing vehicles, which will be of significant use to many facets of the commercial launch procurement market.
MoonRox Challenge
The MoonROx Challenge is designed to promote the development of processes to extract oxygen from lunar regolith on the scale of a pilot plant. These processes have the potential to contribute significantly to the Vision for Space Exploration and space exploration operations.
Personal Air Vehicle Challenge
The Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge is intended to promote the popular use of self-operated, personal aircraft for fast, safe, efficient, affordable, environmentally-friendly, and comfortable on-demand transportation as a future solution to America's mobility needs.
Planetary UAV Challenge
The Planetary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Challenge is designed to promote the development of fully autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) capable of conducting scientific expeditions on other planets and moons within our solar system. In addition to the application of this technology to space science, there are secondary applications to Earth science, homeland security, and humanitarian and commercial endeavors.
Regolith Excavation Challenge
The Regolith Excavation Challenge promotes the development of new technologies to excavate lunar regolith. Excavation is a necessary first step towards lunar resource utilization, and the unique physical properties of lunar regolith make excavation a difficult technical challenge. Advances in lunar regolith extraction have the potential to contribute significantly to the nation's space exploration operations.
Telerobotic Construction Challenge
The Telerobotic Construction Challenge is designed to advance the development of robotic technologies for construction and assembly. NASA hopes to use these robotic technologies to efficiently build structures on the Moon or other remote destinations for astronauts to live or work in them.
Tether Challenge
The purpose of the Tether Challenge is to develop very strong tether material for use in various structural applications. The competition requires a 50% improvement in breaking force from year to year, starting with a commercially available tether in 2005. Additional requirements (such as operating temperature range, vacuum compatibility, and controlled electrical conductivity) will be added in future years.
Private individuals are creating this technology. The government is paying for it. But people like you are the ones who will figure out how to profit from it. So what do you say, young industrialists: How will people find ways to make a profit from these innovations?
Posted by PJ at 09:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 19, 2006
"Lobotomized by a candy-ass broadcast network"
*snicker*
How come the most honest thing ever said on TV comes not from the News Division of NBC, but from the Entertainment Division?
Lorne Michaels, I hope you paid attention. If you ever did that, it would finally make SNL worth watching. Think about it--finally, showing something that didn't have a punch line of "he's gay," "she's a lesbian," "he's on drugs," or "she's retarded." Did you know you could do that? Have you ever watched any old episodes when the actors actually acted, the writers had brains, and you didn't treat your audience like idiots?
Posted by PJ at 07:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackFrom Lindbergh to X
(Cross-Posted from HedgeStop.com)
In the last post, we looked at open source innovation efforts that companies are using to advance themselves: Offering money to people who can innovate to solve YOUR problem. Today, we’re going to look at how people are supporting innovation to advance mankind: Offering money to people who can innovate to solve EVERYONES problem.
In 1919, a gentleman named Raymond Orteig offered a prize of $25,000 to the first person who could fly an airplane non-stop between New York and Paris. Sounds easy, right? Today, we just hop on Expedia, book a ticket, and cross the pond in about seven hours. But early in the 20th century, it wasn’t that easy. The Wright Brothers had left the earth 16 years earlier, but flight had been limited to short flights, and certainly not across the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.
Orteig thought it was time for that to change.
You know how this ends: In 1927, eight years after Orteig offered his reward, Charles Lindbergh climbed into the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Lewis and flew solo for 30 hours. But he wasn’t the first to try—Hubert Julian, Rene Fonck, Charles Nungesser, Francois Coli and others tried and failed. Nine teams in total spent around $400,000 to try and win a prize that was 1/16th of that amount. Hardly cost effective.
But Lindbergh succeeded. He promptly became a national hero. Air flight took off. The value of aviation companies skyrocketed. And on 16 June 1927, Lindbergh collected the $25,000 prize personally from Orteig:
Seventy years later, in May 1996, Peter Diamandis created the X PRIZE for the first group that could launch a ship into space (62+ miles up), and then repeat it within two weeks. The prize eventually grew to $10 million. Just like with Orteig, it took eight years before someone claimed it. But, in October 2004, Mojave Aerospace Ventures flew SpaceShipOne for the second time in two weeks, winning the award.
The comparisons to the Orteig Prize don’t end there. The cost to build and fly SpaceShipOne? Estimated at about $30 million, three times larger than the prize. Again, hardly cost effective. But like the Spirit of St. Louis, SpaceShipOne might be standing at the doorstep of a new industry. Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic will be offering space flights based off of the SpaceShipOne model as early as 2008.
A closing thought: Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. That year, applications for pilots licenses in the US increased 300%. The number of licensed aircrafts in the US increased 400%. And airline passengers went from 5,782 in 1926 to 173,405 in 1929.
When we look back on SpaceShipOne in two decades, what numbers will we be quoting? Will we be amazed that “back in 2006,” getting into orbit wasn’t as easy and common an occurrence as crossing the Atlantic is today?
I think we will.
Posted by PJ at 02:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 18, 2006
Want to be a CEO? Avoid Harvard.
Carol Hymowitz has a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal called "Any College Will Do: Nation's Top Chief Executives Find Path to the Corner Office Usually Starts at State University." (The dead tree version of the WSJ has this on page B1.) Here's what she has to say:
Some 10% of CEOs currently heading the top 500 companies received undergraduate degrees from Ivy League colleges, according to a survey by executive recruiter Spencer Stuart. But more received their undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin than from Harvard, the most represented Ivy school.
Harvard's nine current CEOs include United Technologies' George David and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Among Wisconsin's 10 current CEOs are Pitney Bowes's Michael Critelli, Kimberly-Clark's Thomas Falk and Halliburton's David Lesar. Carol Bartz, chairman and former CEO of Autodesk, majored in computer science at Wisconsin and used a scholarship she'd won for women gifted in math to help pay her tuition.
Some non-Ivy League schools have long been training grounds for particular industries. The University of Texas-Austin, the alma mater of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson, has churned out numerous oil executives. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, is known for its computer-science graduates. But some of today's most successful CEOs got their start on small, isolated campuses.
A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble's CEO, chose Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., because he wanted a solid liberal-arts education and to be assured a spot on the intercollegiate basketball team. A history major who graduated in 1969, he was elected president of his sophomore class, became a fraternity officer and spent his junior year studying in France.
"I learned to think, to communicate, to lead, to get things done," he says, adding that those qualities are what he seeks in job candidates at his company. "Any college will do."
No stunning insights there, although it is interesting. But Richard Tedlow at HBS added an interesting thought later on:
One reason more Ivy League alumni aren't CEOs may be that many have traditionally chosen careers in investment banks and at big law firms, where they could earn big sums quickly and wouldn't have to start in entry-level management jobs.Posted by PJ at 05:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"A lot of people who earn degrees from tier-one universities and business schools aren't willing to start at the bottom of a huge company" and spend years scaling layers of management and hoping to reach the top, says Richard Tedlow, a business historian at Harvard Business School.
September 13, 2006
Tea Partay
What a brilliant advertisement. It's funny, it's creative, and people are seeking it out. What more could a company want? It apparently cost about $200K to make, and has been downloaded over a million times. That's pretty cost effective...
Posted by PJ at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackSeptember 11, 2006
10,000 Heads Are Better Than One
(Cross-Posted From HedgeStop.com)
Chris Reidy, a writer for the Boston Globe, ran an interesting piece this week called "10,000 Heads are Better Than One," talking about InnoCentive, “an exciting web-based community matching top scientists to relevant R&D challenges facing leading companies from around the globe. [Providing] a powerful online forum enabling major companies to reward scientific innovation through financial incentives.”
InnoCentive, in non-PR speak, allows companies to post innovation problems that they are facing, along with a reward for the solution. The postings, which are anonymous to prevent competitors from linking specific innovation work to specific companies, are then read by a community of scientists, engineers, and others. If an individual thinks they have a solution, they can submit it for the prize.
As Mr. Reidy illustrates in his article, it saves the company R&D times and cost, and can be very financially rewarding for those individuals who participate:
This posting caught Ed Melcarek's eye during one of his regular visits to InnoCentive.com, a Web site that offers bounties of up to $100,000 for solving scientific problems: Devise a more efficient way for getting toothpaste ingredients into a tube.
The Canadian engineer sent an e-mail that suggested putting a positive charge on fluoride powder and then grounding the tube. Colgate-Palmolive Co., the InnoCentive client that had posted the problem, liked the idea, and he earned $25,000 for a few hours of work.
"It's a beautiful way of doing business," he said.
It's also one of the latest innovations in research and development.
The world is full of experts, and a company will always be limited in the number of people they can employ. With services like InnoCentive, and their competitors yet2.com and Nine Sigma, Inc., companies can tap into a network of experts without the initial financial outlay that comes from hiring and training full time employees.
This open source innovation can save companies millions of dollars in innovation costs, not to mention the profit to be made by the end product.
As Mr. Reidy illustrates again, the “experts” aren’t always who you would assume. Many people who have a career in one area have an expertise in a completely different arena, either through formal education, past careers, or just a deep level of interest:
Another solver identified by InnoCentive was David Bradin, a North Carolina patent attorney with a master's degree in organic chemistry. In 2002, he spotted a challenge seeking a more cost-efficient way to mass-produce a certain acid. Based on a reaction he had observed as an organic chemist, Bradin thought he knew the answer. A few months later, InnoCentive told him his e-mail solution had been accepted.
"It was the easiest $4,000 I ever made," he said.
Bradin never learned the identity of the company.
A Procter & Gamble Co. executive described how a North Carolina patent attorney solved one of the company's challenges.
"He's a lawyer by day and a chemist by night," P&G's Larry Huston said. "He did chemistry while his wife read romance novels."
I think his hobby wins.
Posted by PJ at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBackDon't You Dare Forget
September 08, 2006
Dating and Mating Rituals
I always find it fascinating how people act without realizing what they are doing. Here's an interesting piece from MSN and Match on behavorial acts while courting:
When it comes to flirting in the hopes of finding The One, what works? The direct approach, “Hey, I couldn’t help but notice your beautiful eyes”? Subtle glances? Playing hard to get? These were among my questions as I headed out on a field trip with Dr. Helen Fisher, a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University, and the author of Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. Dr. Fisher has devoted her career to understanding human mating rituals—and her knowledge applies perfectly, she added, to today’s pickup scene. “Even in this modern age, humans adhere to courtship strategies that are as old as the hills, and used throughout the animal kingdom,” says Dr. Fisher. And that’s why she and I headed out for a night of café- and bar-hopping, to observe what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to mingling and the human mating call. Six hours, two coffee shops, and one — or was it two? — bars later, we had some interesting findings.Posted by PJ at 01:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 01, 2006
Buffet on..... everything
He's one of the richest men in the world. He's also one of the most unassuming. Warren Buffet has proven himself one of the most successful investors in history, and also one of the most quotable. Some of his most famous quotes can be found here. Two of mine:
"If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning"
and
A story that was passed down from Ben Graham illustrates the lemminglike behavior of the crowd: "Let me tell you the story of the oil prospector who met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. When told his occupation, St. Peter said, “Oh, I’m really sorry. You seem to meet all the tests to get into heaven. But we’ve got a terrible problem. See that pen over there? That’s where we keep the oil prospectors waiting to get into heaven. And it’s filled—we haven’t got room for even one more.” The oil prospector thought for a minute and said, “Would you mind if I just said four words to those folks?” “I can’t see any harm in that,” said St. Pete. So the old-timer cupped his hands and yelled out, “Oil discovered in hell!” Immediately, the oil prospectors wrenched the lock off the door of the pen and out they flew, flapping their wings as hard as they could for the lower regions. “You know, that’s a pretty good trick,” St. Pete said. “Move in. The place is yours. You’ve got plenty of room.” The old fellow scratched his head and said, “No. If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go along with the rest of ’em. There may be some truth to that rumor after all."Posted by PJ at 01:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
