Archive for January, 2007
The Presidential Election and The Majority Rule System
I first heard of Barrack Obama while I was a student at Chicago. Even then, he had already made a name for himself — and I wasn’t even at the Law School, where he was a professor. He was known for his charisma and his ideas on the American Dream had much support. Given the current presidential candidates, I can comfortably say I don’t know whom I’ll support yet; but, I clearly know who I will not — Senator Hillary Clinton will not get my support.
I first heard of Barrack Obama while I was a student at Chicago. Even then, he had already made a name for himself — and I wasn’t even at the Law School, where he was a professor. He was known for his charisma and his ideas on the American Dream had much support. Given the current presidential candidates, I can comfortably say I don’t know whom I’ll support yet; but, I clearly know who I will not — Senator Hillary Clinton will not get my support.
Random Selections from Everyday Spam
I normally and quickly delete my Spam box, but today I thought of checking it out to see what spammers were up to. To my surprise, I found the Spam almost inspiring; fulfilling some deep human need. Okay, not quite, but here are some nuggets from the Spam I’ve received today for your enjoyment.
Spammers are very poetic. Here is one that wreaks of confusion, but could be considered poetry:
I normally and quickly delete my Spam box, but today I thought of checking it out to see what spammers were up to. To my surprise, I found the Spam almost inspiring; fulfilling some deep human need. Okay, not quite, but here are some nuggets from the Spam I’ve received today for your enjoyment.
Spammers are very poetic. Here is one that wreaks of confusion, but could be considered poetry:
Gratuitous ClipArt
While at Amazon, we were all told by Divine Fiat that ALL presentations — regardless of kind, cannot ever be on Powerpoint. Period. Bezos prefers prose and actual thoughts slapped in a report — an actual paper report with paragraphs, charts, sentences, an executive summary, introduction of problem, research approach and findings (body of paper), conclusions and recommendations — not choppy, half-thoughts on a gazillion slides. His phrase was “Don’t ever, ever use Gratuitous ClipArt on anything.” I think that is wise advice.
While at Amazon, we were all told by Divine Fiat that ALL presentations — regardless of kind, cannot ever be on Powerpoint. Period. Bezos prefers prose and actual thoughts slapped in a report — an actual paper report with paragraphs, charts, sentences, an executive summary, introduction of problem, research approach and findings (body of paper), conclusions and recommendations — not choppy, half-thoughts on a gazillion slides. His phrase was “Don’t ever, ever use Gratuitous ClipArt on anything.” I think that is wise advice.
HTML Validation Errors on Google Homepage
This means absolutely nothing, but it’s ironic that the Google Homepage would have 66 HTML Validation Errors. I checked shmula.com and it has a few hundred; Amazon.com has over 1000 html validation errors.
Again, it means nothing — I’m not very strict at all on HTML and I try to use mostly CSS anyway. This was just for fun.
This means absolutely nothing, but it’s ironic that the Google Homepage would have 66 HTML Validation Errors. I checked shmula.com and it has a few hundred; Amazon.com has over 1000 html validation errors.
Again, it means nothing — I’m not very strict at all on HTML and I try to use mostly CSS anyway. This was just for fun.
Toyota Factory in Ontario, Canada
The guys at Gemba pointed me to this great video on the Toyota factory in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Check it out:
[youtube]YTQtoeP_1oU[/youtube]
For more on Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, or Operations in general, please view these articles:
The guys at Gemba pointed me to this great video on the Toyota factory in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.
Check it out:
[youtube]YTQtoeP_1oU[/youtube]
For more on Lean, Agile, Six Sigma, or Operations in general, please view these articles:
The Bullwhip Effect
Yesterday for class, we played the Beer Distribution Game, which is a game developed by the Systems Dynamic Group at MIT back in the early 1960’s. This game simulates what can happen in a traditional supply chain and exposes some interesting dynamics that happen in real-world supply chains.
Yesterday for class, we played the Beer Distribution Game, which is a game developed by the Systems Dynamic Group at MIT back in the early 1960’s. This game simulates what can happen in a traditional supply chain and exposes some interesting dynamics that happen in real-world supply chains.
Knocking Down a Wall
We had a wall knocked down recently, and we are really happy about the result.
Previously, as you walked into our front door, you were immediately met with a small front room and an awckward wall. Now, when you walk in, there is a big wide and long room, perfect for wrestling in, entertaining, and just lounging in.
Before –
We had a wall knocked down recently, and we are really happy about the result.
Previously, as you walked into our front door, you were immediately met with a small front room and an awckward wall. Now, when you walk in, there is a big wide and long room, perfect for wrestling in, entertaining, and just lounging in.
Before –
The 8th Type of Muda
There are 3 types of activities, 2 of which produce waste:
- Steps that definitely create value.
- Steps that create no value, but are necessary given the current state of the system.
- Steps that create no value and can be eliminated.
(2) & (3) naturally create wastes, of which there are 7 types:
- Over-Production: Producing more than is needed, faster than needed or before needed.
There are 3 types of activities, 2 of which produce waste:
- Steps that definitely create value.
- Steps that create no value, but are necessary given the current state of the system.
- Steps that create no value and can be eliminated.
(2) & (3) naturally create wastes, of which there are 7 types:
- Over-Production: Producing more than is needed, faster than needed or before needed.
Forecasting – Unweighted and Weighted Moving Average Model
This article is part 2 of a series on Forecasting.
In this article, we will discuss 2 types of forecasting models — the weighted and unweighted moving average model. I’ll also discuss Measure of Forecasting Accuracy.
Unweighted Moving Average
This article is part 2 of a series on Forecasting.
In this article, we will discuss 2 types of forecasting models — the weighted and unweighted moving average model. I’ll also discuss Measure of Forecasting Accuracy.
Unweighted Moving Average
Introduction to Forecasting
This article is part 1 of a series on Forecasting.
A forecast is an estimate of the future level of some variable. That variable is most often demand but could also be supply or price. Most companies forecast in order to help the firm in strategic planning activities such as inventory purchasing, capacity planning, labor planning, etc.
This article is part 1 of a series on Forecasting.
A forecast is an estimate of the future level of some variable. That variable is most often demand but could also be supply or price. Most companies forecast in order to help the firm in strategic planning activities such as inventory purchasing, capacity planning, labor planning, etc.
