James F Duffy Blog

Need a Safety Topic?

2008-06-25T14:19:00.002-04:00

Check page links here

or go the source...OSHA Safety Quick Cards

they have some good ones for PPE, Construction Hazards, and Fall Protection

New Safety Topics

2008-05-03T10:02:00.002-04:00

Additional Safety Topics have been added to the Safety page...

Looking under Housekeeping and Change is good...

The Art of the Perfect Pint Pour

2008-03-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

more from Guy's blog...Guinness!!!...

link to full article and pictures from the Guinness plant...

Green Building at Stanford

2008-03-06T14:41:00.001-05:00

It helps to have an good budget...

Stanford University is full of smart people, and now it has a smart building too thanks to Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo!, and his wife Akiko Yamazaki The building is called Yang and Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2). The size of the building is 166,000 square feet, and it cost approximately $470/square foot.

link to full article with pictures

Do you like Lists?

2008-01-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

Listography

Tom Peters PSF Wiki...

2008-01-16T15:02:00.000-05:00

PSF Wiki

Have fun!!!

Looking Forward to 2008...

2008-01-06T21:12:00.001-05:00

Best Wishes (belated) for a Happy and Healthy New Year!!!

(back from a long holiday break, and looking forward to the new year...)

Las Vegas Hotel Implosion

2007-12-10T20:10:00.000-05:00

only in Vegas!!!...

The short version...better video of the countdown

The longer version...better fireworks, and some interesting detail regarding the sequencing and placement of the charges

Enjoy...

German steeple challenges leaning tower of Pisa

2007-11-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

BERLIN (Reuters) - The Guinness Book of World Records has ruled that a church steeple in Germany, not the famous leaning tower of Pisa, is the most tilted tower in the world.

The 25.7-metre steeple tilts at an angle of 5.07 degrees, while the tower of Pisa tilts at just 3.97 degrees, said Olaf Kuchenbecker, head of Guinness's German edition.

"When you lay photos of the two next to each other you can see it relatively clearly," Kuchenbecker said.

The new record, scheduled to appear next autumn in the 2009 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, could strip the Pisa tower of its iconic status, Kuchenbecker said.

link to full article

MIT alleges flaws in Gehry building

2007-11-07T15:23:00.000-05:00

They wanted this design...you need to know you're taking the whole package...

BOSTON - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is suing renowned architect Frank Gehry, alleging serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a building celebrated for its unconventional walls and radical angles.

The school asserts that the center, completed in spring 2004, has persistent leaks, drainage problems and mold growing on its brick exterior. It says accumulations of snow and ice have fallen dangerously from window boxes and other areas of its roofs, blocking emergency exits and causing damage.

The suit says MIT paid Los Angeles-based Gehry Partners $15 million to design the Stata Center, which cost $300 million to build. It houses labs, offices, classrooms and meeting rooms.

link to full article

Theory and Practice

2007-10-21T13:24:00.000-04:00

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.

I could only find one reference that attributed this one to Yogi...it's still a good one...

Are You an Egomaniac?

2007-09-06T12:50:00.000-04:00

Ten Questions with Steven Smith

egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability)

great stuff

The very Big and the very Small...

2007-08-29T15:18:00.000-04:00

I find these topics fascinating...as sort of an odd hobby...

Two Slits Are Better Than One

Cosmic Effort Sheds Light on Dark Energy

and I wonder why my kids think I am a boring conversationalist...

Link to "A Few Good Architects"...

2007-07-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

Funny...

A Few Good Architects

Service Industry Re-visited

2007-06-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

I had previously focused on issues regarding our "Service Industry"...

What we do is different from manufacturing a product. We deliver a service, and we like to think that “Service” is higher up the “Value Added” chain than a “Product” and maybe it is.

This often takes the form of answers to questions...

We are in the "Answers" business...

We get paid (a lot, I hope) to provide service (answers) to our Clients...

Clients have a right to be dis-satisfied if they pay the going rate and do not get their service, i.e. the answers

We do not get paid to provide excuses...

Mystery Solved: Mars Had Large Oceans

2007-06-14T16:04:00.000-04:00

Since 1991, planetary scientists have floated the idea that Mars once harbored vast oceans that covered roughly one-third of the planet. Two long shore-like lips of rock in the planet's northern hemisphere were thought to be the best evidence, but experts argued that they were too "hilly" to describe the smooth edges of ancient oceans.

The view just changed dramatically with a surprisingly simple breakthrough.

The once-flat shorelines were disfigured by a massive toppling over of the planet, scientists announced today. The warping of the Martian rock has hidden clear evidence of the oceans, which in any case have been gone for at least 2 billion years.

"This really confirms that there was an ocean on Mars," said Mark Richards, a planetary scientist at the University of California at Berkeley and co-author of the study, which is detailed in the June 14 issue of the journal Nature.

link to full article

2007-06-11T20:08:00.000-04:00

an interesting blog about space, rocketry, and associated topics...

well worth some time...

Rocketaholic Blog

Google Sketch Up

2007-03-10T14:19:00.000-05:00

I was out to lunch the other day with two collegues...It was one of those "let's go out to lunch for your last day..." the changing times continue to change...

The discussion was pretty typical, who's hot, who's not...other industry stuff...

Drawing programs came up, and someone mentioned Google SketchUp

It a free 3D model sketching program...it's webdriven and compatible with Google Earth...

I got the download...it looks pretty fun...very powerful...I am going to try to convert some of my 2D sketch drawings into 3D models...

Check it out...

The power of many...

2007-02-23T13:12:00.000-05:00

If you've worked in this industry long enough, you have had the opportunity to see the power of a group of people all focused on a common goal...

and the extraordinary things that can be accomplished...

If you are not sure this is really possible, take 2 minutes and 32 seconds out of your life to see for yourself...

Don't waste one minute...

Thon.org
.

Service Improvement...

2007-02-04T17:02:00.000-05:00

What would we do if our service was a product? and we wanted to improve it...

Lots of people like Tom Peters, are always talking about moving up the service scale…
products, services, experiences…and I agree…

But that should not mean that we can’t learn something from looking back the other way…

Just the concept that there should always be an effort underway to improve…

Some quick examples…

Provide solutions for lingering problems- when the product is used, it leaves a mess in the container…solution squeezable tubes for clean product dispensing…
Improve product- from radical re-design to adding a single new feature…
Expand market segment- find another market segment to sell…expand existing market segment…
Make it cheaper…continuous improvement…
Develop related products…similar to the expanded market, have more things to sell…

In engineering, people are too quick to turn to cost as the most competitive aspect of selling engineering…it shows a limited review of the situation…

Pick Three Themes...

2007-02-01T10:24:00.000-05:00

I have decided the following three themes will be my focus for 2007, and maybe beyond...

Client Service- what does it take to make the Client the Hero?...

Technical Quality- there is no substitute for the correct information during a construction project...

Safety- I don't think you can justify leaving this one out...

How to be creative in architecture

2007-01-19T13:39:00.000-05:00

Another manifesto...

Being an architect in and of itself is supposedly a creative endeavor. But, it's not. The business model, the approach - not creative. It has become a commodity. Architects undercut each other to the point of insanity, creating a "low-baller's profession". The good architects transcend all of this. Joe Schmoe will not undercut Daniel Libeskind. You have to be creative, not just in your designs, but in your approach and mentality.

link to Josh's Architectural Manifesto...

Client Input...

2007-01-17T21:33:00.000-05:00

People + process = project success….

We typically build our client presentations around two things…
our people, the Team…
and how our team will work, the Process

I think we miss out on a critical point if we think only these two items will determine whether a project succeeds or not…we have left out the client.

People + process + client input = project success….

Clients provide critical input to the project process…obviously, let’s not overlook the basics like the actual project itself, and more importantly, if not more obviously, the money to pay for the project…

The client project team also provides critical input, decision making, political support, etc…all of which have a dramatic impact on the possible success or failure of a project…

Reviewing the level of input with the client before the project starts will allow both the client and the consultant to have a clear understanding of what is required, or maybe more importantly, differences in opinions about what is required.

Even more importantly, reviewing the expected input to a project with a possible client may give you a clearer view of whether or not the prospective client shares your attitudes about what it takes from each party to make a project successful…something which is better found out before a project starts, not afterwards…

Growing the network...

2007-01-17T21:21:00.000-05:00

My LinkedIn profile...

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesfduffy

Design Ideas...

2007-01-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

Mark MacInturf gave a lecture on design ideas and made the great point that there are only two good analogies for design ideas...the "suitcase" and the "bunch of grapes"...and he had great sketches to go with them...

I was driving home from a site visit today and was listening to some music for the drive...

"Architecture as frozen music" leads to some other design ideas...

Texture..., Rythm..., Articulation...

I need a list for the New Year...

2007-01-04T21:04:00.000-05:00

of 100 things to do to improve Client service...

here goes:

1- show up prepared
2- get one thing done every day
3- explain your work process
4- communicate
5- align the team
6- focus
7- put the project first
8-
9-
10-

I also need a list of 10 things to do this year to improve Client service...

What will the "top ten" be?

I really need a list of the 1 thing to do this year to improve Client service...

What will number 1 be?

We are obligated...

2007-01-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

to teach...

those younger than us, with less experience, we can help...we have to...

to learn...

we have to continue to learn, from those of us with more experience...we have to...

Santa Science

2006-12-26T13:16:00.000-05:00

Relativity Clouds???...

This is a good counterpoint to the typical engineering analysis that kills the fun...

Don’t believe in Santa Claus?

If you’re skeptical of Santa’s abilities to deliver presents to millions of homes and children in just one night, North Carolina State University’s Dr. Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, can explain the plausible science and engineering principles that could allow the Jolly Old Elf to pull off the magical feat year after year.

With his cherubic smile and twinkling eyes, Santa may appear to be merely a jolly old soul but he and his North Pole elves have a lot going on under the funny-looking hats, Silverberg says. Their advanced knowledge of electromagnetic waves, the space/time continuum, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and computer science easily trumps the know-how of contemporary scientists.

Silverberg says that Santa has a personal pipeline to children’s thoughts – via a listening antenna that combines technologies currently used in cell phones and EKGs – which informs him that Mary in Miami hopes for a surfboard, while Michael from Minneapolis wants a snowboard. A sophisticated signal processing system filters the data, giving Santa clues on who wants what, where children live, and even who’s been bad or good. Later, all this information will be processed in an onboard sleigh guidance system, which will provide Santa with the most efficient delivery route.

Silverberg adds that letters to Santa via snail mail still get the job done, however.

Silverberg is not so naïve as to think that Santa and his reindeer can travel approximately 200 million square miles – making stops in some 80 million homes – in one night. Instead, he posits that Santa uses his knowledge of the space/time continuum to form what Silverberg calls “relativity clouds.”

“Based on his advanced knowledge of the theory of relativity, Santa recognizes that time can be stretched like a rubber band, that space can be squeezed like an orange and that light can be bent,” Silverberg says. “Relativity clouds are controllable domains – rips in time – that allow him months to deliver presents while only a few minutes pass on Earth. The presents are truly delivered in a wink of an eye.”

link to full article

Another Manifesto...

2006-12-08T14:04:00.000-05:00

I really like this one...and you thought only architect's wrote manifestos...

Making the most of your time

You can’t manage time. You can only manage yourself. Successful people manage to get a lot more out of their time. Here are nine things that you can focus on next year to make the most out of your time.

link to the other nine points

An interesting "manifesto"...

2006-12-07T09:18:00.000-05:00

regarding "making stuff" and why we should...

link

Robust Solutions…

2006-10-22T20:16:00.000-04:00

Robust...

Main Entry: ro·bust

Pronunciation: rO-'b&st, 'rO-(")b&st

Function: adjective

Etymology: Latin robustus oaken, strong, from robor-, robur oak, strength

a : having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health
b : having or showing vigor, strength, or firmness "a robust debate"
c : strongly formed or constructed : STURDY "a robust plastic"
d : capable of performing without failure under a wide range of conditions "robust software"

A high-quality engineering effort will result in …

a robust understanding of a robust description of a robust solution…

Mavericks at work...

2006-10-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

A good post by Guy Kawasaki...

Ten Questions with Polly LaBarre about her book "Mavericks at Work"

The strategies, tactics, and advice in Mavericks at Work grew out of in-depth access to a collection of forward-looking companies. These maverick companies are attracting millions of customers, creating thousands of jobs, and generating billions of dollars of wealth. The book covers these topics:

- Forming strategies

- Unleashing ideas

- Connecting with customers

-
Enabling employees to achieve great results

I mostly enjoy Guy's "Top Ten List" type posts, but he hasn't been doing many of those lately...

Parents weekend...

2006-10-12T20:14:00.000-04:00

at PSU...

We had a great weekend visiting Jennifer up in State College, and had a lot of fun spending time with Jen.

My personal cool event of the weekend was a visit to the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor during their open house!!!

After signing in, a brief classroom presentation covered some general infromation and day to day issues regarding nuclear radiation. After that it was off to the reactor bay... I got to look down through the water at the working pile. It was glowing with a really diferent blue light. Very cool!!!

The students who were escorting us were very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions the visitors had, even all my inane ones...

Especially cool was the fact that I got to bore the girls for the rest of the weekend with a variety of interesting facts about my visit...

Planning and Doing…

2006-08-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

For various reasons, I have been spending a lot of time on planning activities lately…

Plans are important…action without planning can produce random results…

But let’s not forget the “Doing” part…it’s just as important to put the same effort into execution as the planning…

It brings that quote to mind about a good plan executed with vigor is better than a perfect plan that never gets executed...Patton, I think...

3 things I love about the shore...

2006-07-10T21:01:00.000-04:00

Our “Geek Dinner” was originally scheduled as a backyard barbecue on the 4th of July…
And then we scheduled our vacation for the same week…oops…time for a change in plans…I guess the Stormhoek was coming along on vacation…

We vacationed at the Jersey shore when I was growing up…lots of great memories…

Now we take our kids to the shore and we do some of the same stuff that I remember doing as a kid…I hope to pass along some of the memories…among other things, like time at the beach, crabbing, and fishing, I have vivid memories of watching the sun set over the bay…

To this day, this is still one of my one of my favorite things to do down the shore…

That brings us to the label design idea…since the wine was coming along on vacation with us…

I had wanted to photograph the wine with the sun setting in the background…I was thinking it could make a great wine label…I wanted to provide an example of customers taking pictures of the wine doing their favorite thing…and having these pictures become label art for Stormhoek…

Unfortunately, it became a case of “good idea, questionable execution”…the porch wasn’t quite facing the right direction, and quite frankly, the sunsets weren’t that good that week…

But it was the 4th of July!!!...so the pictures became the fireworks instead of the sunset…again, great possibilities…I think maybe my photography skills leave something to be desired, but hey, we tried, we had some fun…and everyone will always remember the vacation I had that free wine from South Africa that no one had ever heard of before…

I hope you like the pictures…I don’t think they’re good enough to use for label art, but I’ll bet there are other people out there who could do better with the same concept…

Everyone submit their fave pictures…I’ll bet the Stormhoek crowd would enjoy them even if they don’t need a new label design… I’m looking forward to seeing some good pictures…

In my experience, projects have the best chance to succeed when they are a group effort…

P. S… we really enjoyed the Pinotage…and I hear it’s now available in South Jersey…

looking at the pinotage and the bay

just back from vacation...first day back to work, moving my office, project to catch up on...whewh!!!

we watched the fireworks on the 4th down the shore...I'll be posting some more about the event when I get the chance...enjoy the pictures...

the red and the white

watching the fireworks...

ooooohhhh....aaaahhhhh....

a good one...

another nice one...

the last picture...

Lessons Implemented

2006-06-27T15:52:00.000-04:00

another Bob Yerby story...

He started a project off with a meeting and an improvement topic came up...

"I don't want to hear about Lessons Learned..."

(Heresy!!!... Sacrilige!!!...the mobs were about to burn down the castle...)

"I only want to hear about Lessons Implemented..."

Take note of all the issues you want, but if you never change your behavior, whose kidding who? This was particularly interesting because of the shift in focus to actually making the required changes, not just talking about them, was a much bigger challenge...

Oops... wrong blog...

2006-05-24T15:36:00.000-04:00

posted this to the wrong blog...

here's the link

Edmund Hillary comments

Virtual Neighbors

2006-04-20T21:32:00.000-04:00

www.skyscrapers.org

www.deathbyarchitecture.com

www.greatbuildings.com

bldg blog

more to come

The Extended Conversation...

2006-04-05T21:36:00.000-04:00

So I've been reading/ watching the global conversation about wine...no,really, there's a global conversation going on about wine...I kid you not...

What could that possibly have to do with this little tiny piece of the global conversation? It's kind of a long story... here goes anyway...

signed up for a geek dinner...for Stormhoek, a South African wine company...it's a big/ little marketing thing that hugh macleod came up with...read all about it here

with me so far? right...

so I'm glancing through the other people who have signed up...it's a pretty diverse crowd so far

so what is there possibly to gain from all this?...although just being amused is good enough for me...

then I notice the entry for BioBrewHaHa Seattle...interesting...read further...Life-Sciences Special Interest Group...curious...further comments..."The technology in biotech and wine are very similar..." google "userspace.com" and look for sanjay...it's a biotech instrument company, I think...they host a website for Laboratory Robotics Interest Group

Still with me? right...

this group has a Philadelphia Chapter with events now being covered in the Philly Pharm Bio Blog...

whew...long story...wine... to seattle...to biotech...back to Philly...

The "Extended Conversation"...

related link..."on becoming more viral..."

Conversations about wine...

2006-04-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

Dinner, too...

Planning on hosting a wine tasting dinner...

with the wine provided by Stormhoek, a South African wine company...what's up with that...

all part of the global conversation...frappr map here

sent an e-mail to Stormhoek about their label design conversation, went something like this...

Let me first apologize for not being completely up to speed on the status of your label design efforts...

If you're still looking at the label design, I would like to offer another suggestion...

Short version...

the label could contain a photograph taken and submitted by customers with the bottle in their favorite location, activity, etc. etc. etc. A rotating or changing series of photographs shows the on-going "conversation" or connection with your customers...

The longer version...feel free to skip this part...

I have signed up for one of the dinners and it turns out that we will be on our family vacation during the original date I was going to use..oh well, I'll bring the wine along...we'll try it out watching the sunset over the bay along the Jersey shore (traditional vacation spot on the east coast of the US)...one of my favorite things in the world to do...I figured I'd send you guys a good picture of the bottle in the sunset...(trying to keep this short...)...I was looking at gapingvoid the other day and noticed the guy who takes pictures of the t-shirt from all over the world...so, what if you asked customers to submit high quality pictures of a stormhoek bottle in their favorite place from all over the world...might make for some interesting label art...the customers are motivated by the concept of their picture "making the label"...you get the unique label you're looking for...and continue the conversation...

just a thought...looking forward to trying the wine...I'll send you the picture after our vacation...

no response yet...

update from gapingvoid...I guess hugh wants to keep the conversation going his way...

maybe post something about this on the wiki page?

Hope...

2006-03-29T21:34:00.000-05:00

is not a plan...

That's a good one...from Bob Giorgio...

We spend a lot of time planning projects/ things...

be careful you're not just hoping...

We had a Plan...

The next one...

2006-03-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

I always liked that quote from H. H. Richardson...

Question: "What is your most important project?..."

Answer: "The next one..."

getting the next one, always the biggest challenge...

I think it takes some getting used too...there is no work without the next project...what do you do to get the next one...what happens if you don't get it...

I think it leads to a certain mentality...a bit of a predator approach...hunt down your next project...

I don't think everyone gets used to this approach...

another good question...what part to play in "the hunt"?

lead the hunt?...part of the pack?

Difficulties writing...

2006-01-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

Writing is hard, or maybe blogging is hard…

I get a bunch of good ideas, but if I don’t get them down in writing right away I find I can’t remember all the nuances of what I originally had in mind…

I don’t want to say I have a hard time expressing myself…

I have a hard time with the logistics, I’m trying to get a project finished, 3 or so separate blogs underway, and still finding time a get some writing done, in a timely enough manner that I get the ideas down…before they all get away…

Losing Count...

2006-01-17T21:14:00.000-05:00

Husband...
Father/ Dad...
Project Manager...
Process Architect...
Lead Architect...
Designer...
Artist...
Writer...
Painter...
Scupltor...
Hobbyist...

Blogger...

How many things am I trying to be?...

Architects are Great What???!!!

2005-12-08T20:32:00.000-05:00

Great Marketers are Architects

the link above is for an article on Seth Godin's blog...

who's Seth Godin??? he's just this marketing guy...quiet well known, apparently...blogs a lot, writes books, about, well, marketing stuff...

I am not sure why, but a lot (a majority?) of the blogs I read have to do with marketing...Mr. Godin, metacool, gapingvoid, some others...

Is the writing more interesting?... better topics? more time on their hands?...or maybe they're just more pre-disposed than most to write their thoughts down...

I am always curious as to how people refer to "architects"..."he's the architect of that policy...", "great marketers are architects...", for instance, nice ring to that one...people seem to ascribe some status to the profession, or at least to the concept of the profession...Tom Peters is fond of refering to the Professional Service Firm, like architect have it all worked out, nice and neat...if only they knew...

how come I don't read any architect's blogs, about, uh, Architecture...please note the capital "A"...

do real architects blog? guess I'll have to find out, off to google...

if not, maybe it's just to keep the secret...

what's my excuse?

OOOoofff!!!

2005-11-21T20:36:00.000-05:00

Out to Arizona for ISPE for a couple of days...back to the office for 1/2 a day for some critical items...off to the mountains for a couple of days R+R with the family...

sounds great, had a lot of fun, very relaxing...until...

Monday back after a full week out!!!...with a project under budget pressure, trying to maintain a tight schedule...

a full week of Monday's...

It's almost not worth taking any time away from the office...

it is, really, but what a battle to catch up and get back in the loop...

Phoenix/ Scottsdale/ Arizona

2005-11-12T22:03:00.000-05:00

was out at the ISPE Annual Meeting this week in Scottsdale, AZ...

read the review here!!!

I had never been to that part of the country before...Interesting terrain, the flat desert plain surrounded by the rocky bits popping up around the city...hard to get used to the brown gravel desert color scheme, no grass, cactus instead of pine trees, etc...

very spread out, but I was surprised at the density in some of the developments I drove by...houses 10 feet apart, really crammed in there...I guess there's only so much room before you hit the next hill...

The conference was at the Desert Ridge Marriott Resort in Scottsdale...very nice place, beautiful inside and outside...palm courts, fountains and water features everywhere, very pleasant staff...

didn't actually stay in the resort due to oerbooking the resort, so I just had to enjoy the place vicariously at the various meeting events...

nice to see a bunch of people, lots of good seminars, but good to get home, too...

Express Yourself...

2005-10-27T19:55:00.000-04:00

Find a way to express yourself...

Not just through work, design of structures, buildings, etc, etc...

Paint, sculpt, write an article, start a blog…

It’s easier once you get started...

You’ll find you get better at it...

Documenting your thoughts seems to generate room for more!!!

Trust

2005-10-12T22:56:00.000-04:00

more from H MacLeod...

Technology and Trust

I find this to be true more and more...

Ultimately, this industry is about performance...

Been driving up to North Jersey a lot...

2005-10-12T22:21:00.000-04:00

for my current project...

I listen to other radio stations as my normal station fades out above Princeton...

So I listen to college radio from that area...interesting

some stations have that quirky college radio feel...the odd presentation, the different programming...

others are surprisingly not that creative, college radio, yes, but just a lot of all the same stuff...I guess that just makes me sound like a middle-aged whiner...
"music was great when I was a kid!!! kids!!!"

and so what does this have to do with anything?

A good way to keep current is to keep some college kids around the office...
this can help keep you close to the cutting edge, or somewhat close, at least...

You can get stale real quick if you don't make a concerted effort to stay current

College radio and recent college grads will not solve all your problems, but it can be one way to stay "hooked up"...

"if it's too loud, you're too old..." this may be truer than I think...

You know you've been traveling too much when...

2005-10-12T22:18:00.000-04:00

Your bed at home feels different, not the hotel bed...

You have a favorite radio station in a different city...

The shuttle driver asks how your kids are doing...

The Satellite Franchise Virtual Office Model

2005-09-21T19:58:00.000-04:00

Why do we drive so far to work?

been thinking about this issue for a while...

now that gas is $3 a gallon, it may make more sense...even if it doesn't make any more sense there may be more pressure to adopt something like this...

Think of McDonalds, Walgreens, or Home Depot...

A location wherever you go, all similar, close to home, convienient...

Offices should go to the employees rather than making them come to you...gives you the best possible shot at the biggest possible talent pool...the ability to draw on every possible employee...

linked with technology to form a virtual group...Obviously, the challenge is to truly work together as a group...hey that's a challenge anyway...

the engineering company as a series of small "franchise" locations, acting together virtually to make up the required horsepower...

just athought...

the porous membrane: why corporate blogging works.

2005-09-07T14:56:00.000-04:00

from the gaping void blog

I like this explanation...hopefully this blog and the website offer the same opportunities...

Things you might here me say...

2005-09-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

"Actions speak louder than words..." could be considered Rule No. 1

"Make a qualitative difference..." don't just have an opinion

"Overtaken By Events..." also known as "OBE"

"There is a need for precision..." 'nuff said

"Never ignore fundamentals..."

"There is no substitute for preparation..." I'm not kidding...

"Life is not a perfect process..."

"Draw like you know what you're doing..."

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed later..." I thought this was attributed to Patton but I have never been able to confirm it.

"Looking spontaneous is a matter of careful preparation..." M. Twain by way of R. Heinlein.

"Make an effort, not an excuse..." taken from a poster in the gym at our local elementary school...it would be a pleasant chnage if people focussed the energy they expend coming up with excuses and reasons for not doing their work on actually doing work...

Draining New Orleans Easier Said Than Done

2005-09-06T12:52:00.000-04:00

good article from ENR.com

In particular, check out the link to the slideshow of the damage to the levees and pumping stations...

good luck to everyone down there...

Wrapping up the summer...

2005-09-04T21:27:00.000-04:00

at the beach today...

back to school...back to work...

it's nice to have an extra day off...I'll still be working, but at least I'll be at home...been much too busy lately

HST ...the send-off...

2005-08-19T13:00:00.000-04:00

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

later, dude!!!

link from yahoo.com

Residential Design goes on vacation...

2005-08-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

link from metacool.com

What People Hang on Their Walls...

2005-08-15T19:43:00.000-04:00

I like to look at what people have hanging on their walls...
People have to feel pretty strongly about something before they hang it on the wall...at home, but especially at work...

something that makes a statement beyond "here's a picture of my wife/ kids" is rare...

Here's a story about 2 such statements...

"In the Land of the Blind, the One-eyed Man is King"- Bob Yerby

Bob had a plaque on his wall with this quote on it...I asked him if it was overall a postive or negative sentiment...He indicated that he felt it was very positive in that you maybe weren't that far from success...

I find myself thinking about the "Land of the Blind" part more often than not...

"The ABC's of Project Management"- Paul Buckham

A- know where you are
B- know where you want to go
C- know how you're going to get there

Paul had this on his wall printed on a piece of paper...how many people have you worked with or how many projects have you worked on that could have benefited from this fundamental description of the PM function...

Bob and Paul are both great guys and good engineers/ project managers...They were once referred to on Fluor's Financial message board as "oil patch renegades"...if that is true, then we could use a few more renegades in the industry...

Telling War Stories...

2005-08-15T19:36:00.000-04:00

You know how you hate hearing "war stories"...

"we did work for them 17 years ago, it was a great job, we did this...We did that...blah, blah, blah..."

wasting time in meetings, boring, off topic, etc, etc...

Well, maybe blogs make a great place for "war stories"...

if they're interesting, topical, well written, make a point etc, etc...

so maybe I'll crank out a series of the good ones...

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2005-08-11T17:29:00.000-04:00

cool pictures daily...if you're curious...

link to ASPOD

So it's been 20 years...

2005-07-23T08:24:00.000-04:00

December 1984...a date with a relative degree of infamy...for me anyway...

The University of Maryland...(check out the cool "Deep Impact" program)
or more specifically the School of Architecture...

grabbed my degree and off I went...

and here I am...20 down, 19 to go...I want to retire early...I don't want to, it's just that it feels better thinking I'm more than halfway thru

So how is everybody doing?...I guess I should have gone to the re-union...
I seem to remember all of the day-to-day stuff, like staying employed, getting in the way, but I probably should have made the time

I still have such vivid memories from my time there...the people, the efforts, the struggles...the experience was the beginning of defining myself as a person (that sound's a bit much, doesn't it?)...if you where there maybe you know what I mean...

Hey, some of you are still there...Raplh, Karl, Frank, Cindy...
Others appear to be out of academia, practicing in the industry...Steve, the Arnolds...locally (New Jersy local...) the Westfields...

I hope this finds you all well, happy, and healthy...

Well, I gotta go crank out another 20...

more to come...

How To Be Creative...

2005-07-14T16:09:00.000-04:00

from H Macleod's blog

to quote Karl DuPuy, "some good, some bad, some ugly..."

but it is still an enjoyable read...

If it was Important...

2005-07-09T10:00:00.000-04:00

you would already be doing it...
If you're not already doing it, you don't feel that strongly about it...

If it was Important, it would already be done...
If it's not already done, you don't feel that strongly about it...

This seems to fly in the face of the Continuous Improvement theory.

Maybe you don't need a rationale...

Maybe if you think it's important just START doing it.

Engineer Interview Triage?

2005-07-01T13:39:00.000-04:00

A neat post about interviewing engineers (software types) and pertinent questions for talent-spotting...

link from Bnoopy Blog

What questions would you ask your Architect?

The pace of change...

2005-06-24T18:38:00.000-04:00

from a previous post over at philly pharm bio

What we do is different from manufacturing a product. We deliver a service, and we like to think that “Service” is higher up the “Value Added” chain than a “Product” and maybe it is.

I was in the check-out line at the local food store the other day... they sell digital cameras in line at the food store!!! This was a cool new technology just short time ago...now it's a commodity on display along with the skittles

It made me glad that I'm not designing electronics and fighting the back side of the technology curve...or trying to invent the next item on the "bleeding edge"...

There's been a lot of talk about the out-sourcing of the service industry...and yeah, there is a lot of pressure on the commodity services...

I still see the need for high-end service...the Client's need it...if you're good at it...you'll get paid

unless, of course, I see "How to Be an Architect" book/ software on sale at the Thriftway...

Like-minded-ness...not getting it done...

2005-06-02T21:18:00.000-04:00

(is that even a word?...)

I had heard a story when I was in school that one of the partners from SOM made a statement along the lines of "if we all agree with each other, we don't need three partners..."

If you are surrounded people that agree with you, how are you going to get anything done? The discussions that accompany different viewpoints are where all (most...some...) of the good ideas come from...

I heard that someone from Washington, DC was presenting their ideas to a group of people... who already happen to agree... How does that change anything? or move anything forward?

These aren't the people who need to be convinced...
these aren't the people you could learn from...
Not too unexpectedly, this is a deadlocked situation with litle to no possibility of progress...

Lesson Learned: Don't surround yourself with people with agree you...especially if you want to get something done.

"Research and Development"

2005-05-26T19:58:00.000-04:00

We use this phrase all the time...it's part of typical project scope...it's something we provide a facility for other people to do.

However, to what extent do we think about this phrase in terms of ourselves?

Research...what have we tried to discover lately? something really different...

Development...what have we learned lately? what skill have we picked up lately?

More importantly, is this part of a specifc plan? with a budget? a schedule?

Big Pharma companies have entire portions of their companies dedicated to this issue...with the biggest budgets, best facilties, etc...they know how important R+D is to their future...

more on this topic is available from tompeters.com, specifcally the re-imagine book

Cool Post From Sigurd Rinde's Blog

2005-05-06T14:24:00.000-04:00

bad ideas, rules and other structural beams...

Link

Eats, Shoots & Leaves...

2005-05-06T11:46:00.001-04:00

I have just finished reading "Eats, Shoots & Leaves"...

My daughter was reading this book for her English Literature class, and I picked it up...I try to read something out of most of the books the kids are using for school...No one in their class wanted to read "Withering-ly Dull Heights" or something along those lines.

What a great book!!!... I found it really funny, which is a bit peculiar considering it is a book about punctuation. It is very well written and the author has a great sense of humor. It is also very comprehensive...more than I thought I ever needed to know, but it is a fun read which move along at a good pace.

The main site for the book is here Feel free to stop by and test your puncutation skills...

On the serious side, a lot of our work consists of writing, which does not always come so easily for a lot of us...even if you strugle with the content, at least get the puncuation right!!!

I found out I use too many ellipses...which, by the way, are the 3 dot things I'm always sticking at the end of each thought...forgive me, Lynne Truss...I'm also a firm believer in the Oxford comma...boy, the stuff you didn't know!

In case you missed it, the punch line for the book is on the back of the dust jacket...it's about a panda...think about it, you'll get it...

The God Particle...

2005-05-06T11:46:00.000-04:00

I have just finished reading "The God Particle"

What a great book!!! It is by Leon Lederman who is a very witty physicist...more about Mr. Lederman can be found here in a wikipedia and here

The sub-title is "If the Universe is the Answer, What is the Question?" just in case you want something to think about late at night.

I have always been interested in physics...and in particular (great pun, huh?) quantum mechanics/ particle physics...hey, we all need a hobby, right?

Anyway, this is a very well-written, well-presented history of the evolution of our knowledge of the really small particles and such that make up our world...I found this portion of the book fascinating from both a scientific and historical viewpoint ...on top of that, it's funny!

I am actually re-reading the entire book to re-visit the portions that are not as accessible as others...after all, it's about particle physics...

The disappointment of the next big Supercollider project being cancelled leaves the book end on a down note...

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it if this field (another good one...) interests you.

Blogging Interphex 2005

2005-05-01T10:27:00.000-04:00

Spent a couple of days at Interphex...see the posts per day:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

I've started another Career!!!...

2005-04-23T08:04:00.000-04:00

Ghostwriting!!!...

so far it doesn't pay that well...if you were interested...

Jorge Ferreira was tapped to do a presentation to the first-ever joint meeting of the New England Chapter of the PDA and the Boston Chapter of the ASQ...
The title of the talk was "The Extra Work that goes into a Facility when it is FDA Regulated..." or something like that...

Jorge has been very busy at work on an aseptic filling facility (his specialty, of course...) and didn't think he had time to fully prepare a presentation...and as usual, I'm always up for something different to do...

So I became Jorge's speechwriter...

I didn't make the presentation, but I hear it went very well...He's been invited to make another presentation on a different topic...

Maybe I can get a fee this time!!!...

Static versus Dynamic a la Tom Peters

2005-04-18T16:10:00.000-04:00

I'm a big Tom Peters fan...started with "A Passion for Excellence..." a long time ago...recently read "Re-imagine..."

I'm a regular visitor to his site and, although I'm starting to have some concerns with the content and focus, read most of his stuff...

I have never personally seen Tom speak, but I do look at his event slides...
Eye-catching- if you think ugly is eye-catching...(I guess I'm trying to be polite...but let's try to focus (for once...) on content rather than format...) click thru some of the presentations and see what I mean...

Anywho...he has a slide about Static versus Dynamic...the implication is that, in Tom's world, Static is Bad,...and Dynamic is Good...which initially, I had no problem with...who wants to be considered "static" anyway...

Then I started looking at the qualities he had listed under each category...All of the stuff under Dynamic sounds great...no problem with any of that...see below

Dynamic/ Different

Dramatic Difference
Disruptive
Insanely Great (Quality++++)
Life- (Industry-) Changing Event
Game-changing
WOW!
Surprise
Delight
Breathtaking
Punctuated Equilibrium
Market Creation

We should all be striving every day to achieve every item listed under Static...the supposedly "Bad" category...see below

Static/ Imitative

Integrity
Quality
Excellence
Continuous Improvement
Superior Service (exceeds expectations)
Completely Satisfactory Transaction
Smooth Evolution
Market Share

If that is what it means to be "Static"...sign me up!!!

Leading...

2005-04-18T12:51:00.000-04:00

when you lose...

from the Philly pharm Bio Blog...

Smarter Conversations

2005-04-18T12:49:00.000-04:00

Smarter Conversations

I'll be adding some more links to H. Macleod's Gaping Void site

Team Memberships...

2005-04-18T12:46:00.000-04:00

now available, or not...

From the Philly Pharm Bio Blog...

The "Integrated Design Solution"

2005-04-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

I was preparing my remarks for a Client presentation the other day and found myself considering talking about "delivering an Integrated Design Solution..."

luckily I decided to go with a joke instead...

I know what I mean when I use this phrase...at least I think I do...
but...I don't think it communicates that well to others...

So...a few words about...

the "Integrated Design Solution"...insert blare of trumpets here...

more to come

Been Traveling...

2005-04-03T18:53:00.000-04:00

I was out of town this week...

went to College Park to look at the University and take a tour...

we also went to Washington for a rather soggy visit to the Mall and the Air and Space Museum...

I'll try to get some pictures posted...

It was a dark and dreary night, I mean, day...

Changing Jobs...again...

2005-03-06T11:36:00.000-05:00

I am pleased to be re-joining WGI in Princeton...

At least my list of places I've worked didn't get any longer...it's been a very unstable time for all of us...

While I don't enjoy changing jobs as often as I find myself doing it ( I find it stressful...), there are also some benefits...

It is good to get a different perspective, and see how other people do things...I find this leads to new ideas...it also keeps you informed about what the competition is doing...

As always, it never hurts to widen the network...

Living History...and Stage Set Design...

2005-03-02T13:33:00.000-05:00

This is "Living History" week at Strawbridge School...

This years topic is Immigration...Eileen's classroom was to cover the Trans-Atlantic journey on the steamships of the day...

How do you turn a classroom into the "experience" of boarding a steamship for the journey to the New World...well it takes a gangplank, some cardboard, some paint, and last but not least, some duct tape, as usual...the kids will provide the imagination!!!

The "stage set" aspect of it is fun...create an image, suspend disbelief for a second...what does the mind need to complete the image? I enjoyed the freedom and relaxed approach...It was still challenging...

I stuck to the stage design and production(Facility Design)...I'll chicken out and let the Mom's cover the acting part of the presentation (Operations)...

Isn't that how it always is?...

Current Writing and Web Updates...

2005-02-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking that this will be my new tool for updating someof the stuff I had been putting, or trying to put, on my site...

This is a lot easier to update...

We'll see how it works out...

A Good Story Later...

2005-02-28T17:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I've now closed an office...

AMEC's Philly operation has closed up...the boxes are gone...the phones are dis-connected, people pushed out, etc, etc, etc...

Eventually this will make for a good story...

right now it doesn't feel that way.

First Post

2005-02-16T13:04:00.000-05:00

Been trying to get the technology things sorted out...

can't seem to get this integrated in to my website http://jamesfduffy.com...

so for now I will just keep it separate...