Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Stability amidst chaos Interesting comments by Bill Ford, executive chairman of the Ford Motor Co. implying he would welcome regulations raising gas prices. But notice the reasoning--he would like stability. Once upon a time, I was a member of something called The Planning Forum (or something like that) and went to some conferences. Major corporations are full of "planners" (not the type that plan for the next refinery turnaround, but financial types). It is darn hard to plan in a volatile environment. Just like the stock market hates uncertainty, so do planners--and so do most of us. Thoughts to ponder, any way. 7:28:00 AM    comment []

Wireless Interest My talk at the MARTS Conference (maintenance and reliability technology) seemed to go pretty well. I talked about how intelligent sensing, networking and computer interface can make things better for maintenance and reliability professionals. When I got to wireless, I really struck the dominant 7th chord (raising emotional expectations before the resolution of the root chord). So many questions on wireless sensors--and wireless in general--that one conversation carried over to the hallway. Still a lot of interest--but questions about how it works, too. 7:21:36 AM    comment []