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An old colleague is running a company called Vox Optima. Vox works with customers and government agencies on the use of Social Media. I came across an interesting post on her twitter account and wanted to share it. It seems that even a company like Nestle is not immune to screwing up:

http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=6786

Thanks for reading,

Joe

A couple of weeks ago, I promised to share a video I shot of probes being tested for longevity and durability. These probes in the video are set up over a soft coating over steel, a hard coating over steel, and grit blasted steel panels with a 3 mil profile. To date, these probes have taken almost two million readings and still meet the accuracy specifications of probes fresh off the production line.

I recently returned from our World Conference in Manchester, England. This is a three day event in which all of our Technical, Product Development, Sales, and Manufacturing Managers meet to discuss innovation, new products, and market trends. I always look forward to this event as it is an opportunity to learn from some of the most talented and dedicated individuals in the industry. It is also an event in which some good natured ribbing between countries takes place.

For most of my life I have been active in athletics. Then, several years ago, a series of injuries kept me from doing the activities I love and enjoy. It seemed like every time I would become active, another injury would put me on the sidelines. When I combined this frustration with my travel and work schedule, I wondered if I could ever turn things around.

I recently attended the Marine Coating Conference in Osaka, Japan. Shipbuilders, class societies, paint manufacturers, and quality control inspectors from all over the world attended this three day event in which best practices were shared. The new International Maritime Organization Prescriptive Standard for Protective Coatings in ballast tanks was, again, the main topic of discussion.

I had the opportunity to visit one of the largest and most sophisticated job coaters in the country last week. Frankly, I thought I needed to visit another paint shop like I needed a hole in the head...boy, was I wrong.

The throughput this shop had was the second highest I have ever seen (#1 was a shop in Switzerland that had a single cabin and did 10-30 color changes a day) and was constantly refining their process so that they could provide continual savings to their customers.

I got an email from my boss yesterday with an inbedded link. His comment was "here's a good link for your blog".

The link was an amazing compilation of statistics presented in a dynamic format and moved to the beat of one of my favorite artists, Fat Boy Slim. I shared it with others and they thought it was amazing...so now I share it with you: www.youtube.com/v/cL9Wu2kWwSY&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=e...

This morning I was having breakfast and reading my Sunday Detroit News at my favorite local breakfast joint. Seated near me were two gentlemen in uniform. One was a Vietnam Vet and the other was a WWII vet. I noticed the "Airborne" patch on the WWII vetrans shoulder and asked him about it.

I came across a new website selling Chinese paint meters last night. The website was quite professional looking and gave the appearance of a real company. I thought I was looking a potential competitor and did some more digging.

With a little help from Google Earth and Dunn and Bradstreet, I discovered yet another "guy in his living room, wearing a bathrobe, and sitting in front of his computer".

Where is the expertise?
What about service?
Who do you call when the gauge goes kerplunk?
What do you do when the company moves from Apartment 2B to Apartment 3G?

I love an underdog. My favorite underdog moments come from the sporting world. The 1984 US Hockey team and Kirk Gibson's World Series home run have always been my favorites...until now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

Thanks for watching,

Joe