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My first trip to the driving range this spring reaffirmed a few things for me. One, I hit the beat-up, water-logged range balls pretty much the same distance as I hit my $4 Pro V1s, and two, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results really is the definition of insanity.
If I can figure that out over a bucket of balls on a Sunday morning, maybe we should take our politicians out en masse to hit a few. Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re like me, you don’t exactly have an advanced computer science degree.
And while I don’t necessarily need the Geek Squad to set up my laptop, hacking The Matrix is definitely not in my future either.
My organizational system was working for me, but it still had to go. It was a method that involved yellow sticky notes, telephone numbers scribbled on coasters, doodles, chicken scratches, and enough paper to keep AbitibiBowater and Domtar busy for the near future. Read the rest of this entry »
Lights-out manufacturing literally means just that. It means you are able to turn out the lights at the end of your already long day and go home knowing that your equipment will Energizer Bunny® its way through the night without the need for human intervention.
This type of setup just makes sense. It allows you to run more jobs in a day, reducing per-part costs, while increasing throughput. Read the rest of this entry »
It is with our American neighbors that we share the world’s longest border. It has no need for razor wire, airborne drone patrols, or armed militiamen -- something for which we should all be proud.
Gone are the days of the Fenian Raids and Volstead Act-breaking rumrunners. It’s also no longer all that important who burned down whose White House (sorry, America). Read the rest of this entry »
It's 2012. It's finally here. The last year we have on this planet, right? Not so according to National Geographic magazine. It turns out that this Maya, doomsday, end-of-the-world scenario is pure poppycock.
The Maya calendar doesn't come to an abrupt end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some have said; it just flips back over to zero like the odometer in my old Ford LTD. Read the rest of this entry »
Variety is the spice of life, right? It is if poet William Cowper is to be believed. Then there is singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow who told us that “a change will do you good.”
One man taking the spice out of his life, or at least his wardrobe, is local-boy-made-good Sergio Marchionne. In an interview with reporters following a recent speech, the Italian-Canadian head of Fiat and Chrysler explained why he wears the same clothes — a black sweater and black pants — every day. Read the rest of this entry »
Family Day – the third Monday in February – broke up one long stretch of the year, but now it’s time to rectify a pre-Christmas mistake. By making Remembrance Day a statutory holiday nationwide, governments would give respite to Canadian workers in need of a break, and take care of a long-standing error.
Most provinces and territories — Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and Yukon -- actually observe this day as a statutory holiday. The rest should follow suit.
As the Canadian manufacturing sector continues to try to break out of its slump, new numbers indicate that the industry may be moving in the right direction.
In a recent survey conducted by Canadian Industrial Machinery, manufacturers said that they are running closer to full capacity than they were a year ago. In 2010 shops reported that they were producing at about 77 percent of their full potential. This year that percentage has risen to 84.8 – a definite step toward the competitiveness and profitability needed in this economy. Read the rest of this entry »
September is Self-Improvement Month and time, perhaps, for a little reflection.
The basis for most well-known self-help guides requires the recognition of a personal problem or deficiency and the promise of success following a change in attitude, actions, or activity. And while I may know the difference between Tony Horton and Tony Robbins, I’m certainly no expert. Read the rest of this entry »
A hot, sunny day spent at the ballpark can teach you a few things. It can teach you the difference between a four-seam fastball and a two-seam fastball; it can teach you the importance of sunscreen; and most of all, it can teach you patience.
Sluggers like the Toronto Blue Jays' José Bautista enter the batter's box with a plan. They wait for their pitch, and when they see it, they swing. It's carpe diem, baseball-style. However, success in this sport is a very relative thing. You are deemed a success when you fail seven times out of 10. Read the rest of this entry »
