Places I've been

Played with google maps a while ago and included a map of places I've been to in my life so far on my online resume. I figured it'd be a good thing to include here. There's a link in the side bar on the right too.


View Places I've been in a larger map

Political ads

Some Liberal minds are starting to get it. The person who came up with this idea should be promoted to the federal party level. I'm not really attached to any political party but I do think the current conservative federal government needs to be called out on some of their fiscal decisions and the myth of them being fiscally responsible needs to be debunked.

I originally found it on this blog through progressivbloggers.ca, but here's the video in any case:

Toronto Zoo

I was in Toronto for a weekend for a get-together. Decided to go to the zoo with a couple of friends on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon. It was really busy! We walked around for about 3 hours...also managed to roll down a hill for a bit of fun.

Cormorants?

With the fall season setting in, a lot of water birds have been flying through the area catching fish along the river. I go for walks sometimes along the waterfront and see lots of them. I was driving by one day and saw a whole bunch of cormorants (I think) sitting in a single tree. I happened to have my camera with me and stopped to take some pictures. As soon as I got close though, most of them got skittish and flew away. I took these pictures of the ones cool enough to stay on the tree:

Work

Well...I'm finally working again. An old employer contacted me about helping them with a large order of machined parts that they received. The needed help programming their cnc machines and designing the work-holding fixtures. We figured out a short-term contract arrangement.

It's nice to be working, but it's a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. I started this blog after I quit working there because I got tired of the atmosphere and knew that I could do better than working there. There was limited opportunity for growth and learning and the place is rife with complainers. I left there because I had a chat with the owner about growing into larger role, but he told me he was happy with my productivity where I was and there wasn't much of a possibility of me growing into a management position or playing a larger role in developing the business. I quit a month after that discussion and decided to go to India and the Philippines to figure out what to do next. That journey eventually led me to the MBA at Queen's. I never thought that I'd be back in the same chair doing the same work again. I'm trying to make the best of the situation, but this turn of events isn't helping my morale. Hopefully, something will develop soon.

Reading articles like these doesn't help either.

Madrid?

I've been getting a lot of hits from Madrid lately. I don't think I know anyone there but it's nice to see some people exploring around the site. Feel free to make a connection...

Sailing around Toronto, NYC/QCYC Open Regatta

I had a chance to sail in the National Yacht Club / Queen City Yacht Club in Toronto this past weekend. I got a ride on a boat through a friend on a big C&C sailboat...over 35ft long. I'd never sailed on a boat that big before so I was looking forward to the experience.

It was a really nice boat with enough cabin room to stand up straight inside. The inside was nice and there was a galley and shower. I guess the boat was designed to be a compromise between racing and cruising with enough sail control and rig to be raced, but also with enough creature comforts to be able to cruise it around comfortably.

It took 2 people to manage trimming the large genoa. There's almost no way to physically reel in the sail to close to trimming position. One person had to tail the sheeting line with another to grind the winch. I alternated with my friend between grinding and tailing. It was hard to know when to stop grinding because the most effective leverage position was to face the stern without seeing the genoa. The skipper had to call out when the sail was in the right position...there's a real danger of damaging the sail and poking a hole through it against the spreaders. Sails that big are really expensive! I also helped out on the foredeck with launching and dousing the asymmetrical spinnaker.

It was neat experience overall, but I found that I was detached from the race and couldn't keep track of our tactical position. The boats in the fleet are also different and there was a handicap rating similar to PHRF. It was hard to judge your speed and point relative to other boats since some where more like sport boats than cruisers. I much prefer one-design racing I think. It was also really nice to sail around with the Toronto skyline in the background. Here are some pictures:

Bayfest, Port Rowan

I was at a friend's cottage at Turkey Point for Labour Day weekend. We decided to drive to Port Rowan to check out Bayfest there. We heard that they used to have old school frog and minnow races for kids and thought that it might neat to check it out. Unfortunately, they don't do that anymore due to some animal rights issues. It was still neat to check it out for a couple of hours or so. The weather was really nice.

I forgot to take my camera and had to settle for taking pictures with my cell phone. I was pleasantly surprised about how well they turned out. I have a cheap phone so the resolution isn't good and details are hard get unless you get really close to your subject. Here are some of the better pics:











There was a family BBQ stand there too. They converted old oil containers that used to be used for oil-based home heating. They cleaned them out, cut them in half and mounted them on a trailer. They had room for 3 of these massive charcoal BBQs but only had 2 on the trailer. I tried a sample of their pulled port...really tasty! Here's what the set up looked like:

Niagara on The Lake

I went to Niagara on the Lake a few weeks ago to walk around and take some pictures. It's a nice scenic area. It's located where the Niagara River spills into Lake Ontario and there's a cool fort across on the American side at Youngstown. It's a nice romantic tourist spot and there were a lot of older couples walking around. It's also wine country and I stopped along some vineyards on my way into town.

I ran out of D-76 developer on the previous roll. I didn't want to mix a whole batch from powder again and decided to go with a concentrated developer that I can dilute on the fly. I decided to go with Ilford's Ilfosol 3. Can't really get it around here...had to stop in Burlington on my way to Toronto. I liked using it and the results came out great.

Here are some pics:

Around Niagara Falls

I decided to go to Niagara Falls for an afternoon and take pictures of the tourists. The falls are only about 20 minutes away. It was entertaining seeing all the tourists around and it was pretty busy. I have to get better at not being shy and asking people to take their picture. I passed up a few nice shots because I was trying to avoid confrontations...I still had a few good shots. Here are some:

Around Fort Erie

I moved back home to Fort Erie a few weeks ago. Not too happy about the move...I thought I would have found work by now, but the economic climate is still pretty bad and the job search process is slow going.

There's not much to do in this small town. I decided to pick up my camera and try to kickstart my photography again. I had some D-76 kicking around still and I was wondering if it was still going to be good. It'd been sitting in the basement in a tote box for about 2 years.

I went for a walk around the old downtown area...it's not big, only about a block long. The developer still worked, surprisingly enough. Here are some of the pics:







This one isn't of the old Jarvis st. area, but the yard of the old CL Sailboats company.

Electricity from Mud

I came across an interesting article about a scientist working on extracting electricity from mud...yes, mud.

Apparently the Geobacter protebacteria is key to the whole process. The little organism can breakdown metals and conduct electrons. You can read more about the little creature here.

Online Resume

I applied to a position with an online properties company and decided to do a web version of a cover letter and resume. The position was called "Strategic Innovator"...really fancy title, but basically had to do with generating/promoting new business ideas and managing the process of bringing them to reality.

I had an interview for the position a couple of weeks ago and still haven't heard back from them in terms of a second round interview. I'll give them a follow up call soon.

In any case, you can have a look at my online resume here. It's the same as the one I used for the job application but without the cover letter.

I tried something like this a few years ago around 2003 or so. The reception was mixed...some recruiter was having a bad day and scoffed at it, while some other people thought it was pretty neat. These days though, online interaction is a lot more prevalent than it was 6 years ago. Hopefully this time around the site will make it easier for people to forward my info and some more opportunities will come my way.

One neat thing about using Drupal to develop the online resume is that I can use Google Analytics to track the site usage. This gives it a lot more feedback on viewership than any of the job sites like Workopolis or Monster.

I'll also put a link in the side bar.

Entrepreneurship Links

I was going through some old bookmarks lately and came across this link from CanadianCareers.com, an old site but with some relevant info.

The first link contains some good resources for researching about starting your own business in Canada. There are a couple of links that test your entrepreneurial spirit.

The second link has some good general info about job search techniques.

Laser Sailing

I had a chance to go out on a Laser dinghy a few weekends ago. I've been thinking about buying one for a while now, but never sailed one so I had no idea what I would be getting.

It's a tricky little boat to sail and needs constant attention to wind and wave conditions. You always have to be working the sail sheet and rudder to keep the boat moving. You also have to keep shifting your weight along to maintain the boat balance. It's a lot of work, but fun when you get it going. It's also easy to capsize! Righting the boat and getting back on is easy though.

I'm now convinced that I want to get one. It'll be a good way to get a fun workout in in the summers. I can always start racing in dingy regattas once I get the hang of the boat. The only downside is that I wouldn't really be able to take people out with me. Maybe 1 person, but that would be pushing it.

Anyways, here are some pics:











Geez...getting porky again. Need to start exercising regularly again.

Hobie 16

It was really windy here in Kingston a couple of weeks ago. I rented a Hobie 16 from Ahoy Rentals for a couple of hours. Once the boat gets up to speed, it's really fast and easy to sail. Tacking is a bit of a challenge though...you need to backfill the jib to get the boat to come around. It's a lot different and slower than tacking a mono hull boat. It's also easy to stall the boat and get stuck pointing in the wind and not going anywhere. I preferred gybing because it was easier and quicker, but got beaned on the head with the boom once. Have to duck really low.

In any case, it was huge fun! I want one!

2009 Richardson Partners Financial One Design Regatta

With summer rolling in, my itch to sail started getting stronger. I put out the word on to the Kirby25 fleet that I was looking for a ride at regattas. I got a call from Problem Child within 15 minutes of posting my note on the forum.

I drove up to Ottawa on the Friday night before the regatta to set up my tent and catch up with the other sailors in the fleet. I kept up my tradition of bringing a charcoal bbq and grilling my dinner.

We were expecting a lot of rain for the weekend, but the weather held up with a nice breeze and no rain. We packed in 7 races on the Saturday...a lot of work! The most I remember doing in one day in previous years was 5. I'd sailed with Problem Child before so we were familiar with each other. I gave them some tips about sail trim and race strategy and we did fairly well overall. We almost got a first on one race, but we made two extra gybes and gave the race to the fastest boat in the fleet. The last race of the day was pretty hairy with four boats coming together at the finish line. There was some bumping of boats and a protest, but it was all in good fun. Needless to say, I was pretty tired by the end of the day.

We woke up Sunday morning to a misty rain and no wind whatsoever. The race committee called off the race at 11am and I packed up my tent and drove home to Kingston early.

It was nice to be back racing again. Looking forward to doing more over the summer.

My Big Business Idea

Well, I started the MBA program with an entrepreneurship mindset and a big idea that I thought I could pull off by the end of the program. Unfortunately, while people generally like my idea, it hasn't really caught any momentum and my priority right now is finding a job so I can feed and house myself.

In any case, I'll put my idea out here and see what happens. If someone takes the idea and runs with it, so be it.

Basic Idea
Working in mechanical design and process engineering for 9 different companies, I have a broad perspective on how engineering departments use their design software and manage their data. I see four major pain points: software licensing, data management, sourcing of new suppliers or customers, and information sharing.

Mechanical engineering software is really expensive and can cost up to $20,000 per year for one workstation depending on what features are needed. If you have a design office with about 20 engineers, this can add up to a significant overhead cost.

Another consequence of modern mechanical design software is the amount of data generated. This data, usually in the form of solid models, drawings, FEA results, jigs and fixtures, and test reports have to be kept track of and stored somewhere. When you different software packages creating these different engineering objects, and different people using these packages, it gets tricky trying to store and manage the different bits of data. Different companies have approached this problem in different ways, but the basic problems persist: data duplication, server maintenance and growth, and ongoing development of a custom data management system. This also adds to overhead costs.

Sourcing new customers/suppliers and information sharing relate to time costs and are difficult to quantify. Developing a new business relationship with a new customer or supplier really has to do with building up trust with them. One way to build trust is to share financial info that gives a glimpse into the health of the company and the quality of the management. D&B has made a business out of this kind of reporting for over 100 years. This info reduces the time needed to decide on doing business with a new company, and hence, overhead administrative costs.

Another time costs associated with finding new customers and suppliers is the amount of time needed to find them. An ebay type online market would work. mfg.com and alibaba.com are working to fill this space. They're both great sites, but I think they're missing integration with 3D CAD systems.

Information sharing is a difficult thing to pin down as a cost. Not everyone can look at an engineering drawing and understand the shapes and mechanisms being depicted. Having a solid model where people can look at from different angles and show how the mechanism would work is invaluable and makes meetings run smoother. Having a CAD workstation devoted to a meeting room is not a good cost to have. There where different approaches to managing this problem in my experience. Creating a movie file of a flyby and animated kinematics was the easiest and least costly solution that I came up with. But overall, you can reduce design review meeting times significantly by having a solid model that you can manipulate easily.

So to solve these issues, I came up with the idea of tying in an engineering software package with a web portal. The engineering software package would consist of a CAD system for modelling, a FEA package for stress analysis, and a CAM system for programming CNC machines. The web portal would be there for business functions: Data Management, Credit Reporting (tying in with ERP systems), an Online Market, and a 3D parts catalogue for easy part sourcing. The software package would be free and the web portal would have a subscription fee.

Here's the latest powerpoint slide deck that I did. The idea still needs to be massaged a little more and I need to work on my pitch. There's not much point in putting more work into it though unless I can sell the idea to a potential customer.

I've targeted a previous employer for the idea pitch, but I'm not sure if I'm proceeding with this yet. I want to put together a focus group of my former colleagues and peers to see if my assumptions are correct. I haven't approached them about it yet, but I might making some noise about it in July.

More about Bootstrapping

Here's a good write up about bootstrapping. The info there isn't mind blowing or anything that you couldn't find elsewhere, but the author puts it in blunt and simple form. Really good stuff.

The Ottawa Network

The Ottawa Network has events every now and then to get entrepreneurs around Ottawa to get together and discuss business topics. I went to the last one this spring, held at the Code Factory, to see if I could meet some people that could lead me to a job with a small startup company. I didn't get any solid job leads, but the discussion was really interesting.

The topic had to do with bootstrapping your business. The tree panelists were in full agreement about external funding: there is none. There are some VCs that are still investing, but only after a business is demonstrating revenue growth. Angel investors have been hit hard by the economic recession and are finding safe havens for their money. The only good way to raise funding for your business is by generating customer revenue. Basically, sell your idea to someone before you even spend a dime developing it.

Practically this means identifying your target first customer, meeting with them, and explaining that you can solve their problems if they explain them to you. At this meeting, your job is to sell them the idea using a presentation. If they like it, you can then start talking about a deposit to begin the work and subsequent funds to continue as the project progresses. But until you have a first customer committed, there's not much point in doing any work or spending any money.

Apart from that, I met some interesting people doing some interesting things. One guy in particular started a website called careerseer.com. It's basically a search engine for job postings for the Ottawa tech sector. It mostly has to do with the software industry, but there may be some postings that are more business related.

It's too bad I only went to one of these networking events. I knew about them when I was still in the MBA program, but never went to one for various reasons. I should pass on the info to the new class, especially the new ventures club members.