The last time I blogged about 3D printing was in 2004 when I visited my friend Bill Griffin invited me to have a look at The Ultimate PC Accessory, a Stratasys Fused Deposition Machining (FDM) system.
Unfortunately, I can probably list 100,000 rea$on$ why I would not be getting one any time soon.
Six years later, a 10-year-old 3D printer hacker who goes by the name DocProfSky shows us how you can build your own 3D printer for about a thousand dollars.
Before you get caught up in how cool the technology is, watch the presentation skills of this young man at the Ignite Phoenix event.
MakerBot is an affordable, open source 3D printer. It makes almost anything up to 4"x4"x6". Build your own MakerBot and it makes things for you.
I haven't built one of these yet, but it's definitely on my Someday/Maybe list.
It's been a long time since I have used my soldering iron to build circuits but I found this inspiring, technically and musically. This guy built a MIDI controller that drives teh stepper motors in 4 flopy disc drives to make music. Be sure to watch to the 2:30 mark for a special surprise.
I recently had an interesting discussion on the topic of ethics in business and how they apply to Knowledge Management. My view is that ethics are the foundation of effective knowledge management.
Here's how I currently define the argument for Ethics in KM
Knowledge Management is about sharing of knowledge, information, and experiences - an exchange of information and ideas . (We often call this learning.)
This exchange cannot occur without effective communication.
For communication to be truly effective, transparency must exist. Transparent communication is built on trust
Any unethical behavior undermines trust which ultimately impairs communication which leads to the loss of sharing and the loss (or distortion) of information and knowledge .
The bottom line is that ethics is important to KM because of trust.
Due to the stage lighting, I was unable to see much of the audience from the main stage where I was presenting, but I know that many people were taking photos during the presentation.
I'm hoping that some of you who took photos of my presentation would be willing to share these with me.
Did you attend Lotusphere 2011 in Orlando last week? Did you happen to attend my session: INV208 V=KMT: The Formula for Creating Value with Lotus Software? If so, I'd like to hear from you.
Several weeks ago, my team and I set out on a mission to better understand how satisfied people are with Lotus Notes as a tool for productive work. So we did what many companies do - we set up a survey. We put together a long list of questions designed to help us better understand who our customers are, how and why they buy and what value they get from using our product. We signed up for a SurveyMonkey account and sent out invites.
A survey like that is generally not remarkable, but I think the answers to two of the questions are...
2010 was a whirlwind of a year, with many challenges, opportunities, and blessings. If you received our 2010 Christmas letter, then you have a glimpse at what our year was like.
Looking back at 2010
A great kick-off at Lotusphere; IBM even spotlighted our product in the technical keynote! (Thanks, Ed Brill)
A new product launch and continued business development; looking forward to closing some larger deals in 2011
Thankful for our consulting clients and eProductivity customers around the world. I enjoy reading the emails and letters of thanks we get. Neat to know our product is changing people's lives at work and at home.
For my blog readers, thank you for sharing and for your emails and tweets of encouragement.
Many opportunities for music for the girls, including the a handbell festival, multiple bell choirs, vocal ensembles, choirs, and orchestra. All of this was rounded off by a week of performances at The Master's College "Come Christmas Sing" events followed by a weekend of Candlelight Christmas concerts at Church and topped off by a Hallelujah Chorus sing at the mall. (It was billed as a "Flash Mob" but when thousands showed up to participate it lost its "flash" status. It was just a mob. It was still a lot of fun.
I was able to attend two knowledge management conferences and speak at one. Exciting things happening there as I test and refine some of my materials and concepts for a future book.
I taught my best class ever (Technology for business decision-making) at The Master's College. I really enjoy serving in this capacity. It's a great college with a great mission.
I did not have much time to pursue hobbies this year, but I made progress moving some of these forward to do in 2011
I am in awe of the many ways that the Lord provided for our needs this year, many times even before we knew we had a need. I am thankful for the many friends and family who helped and encouraged us in 2010.
A great year of home schooling our four girls. I so enjoy seeing my children learning and growing. I also like flirting with their teacher (don't worry, my wife doesn't mind). ;-)
After 10 years of study, Amy & Wendy each earned an Awana Citation Award. I'm very proud of them.
Emily & Kelly were baptized this year; I enjoy seeing my children delight in the Lord. Kathy and I are praying for their friends and future spouses.
Amy & Wendy turned 18 this year. I'm very proud of them and thankful for the godly women they've become.
I still can't watch Steve Martin in Father of the Bride with out getting angry (or at least frustrated). Not sure that will ever change.
My love for my wife continues to grow as we celebrate our 50th anniversary for the 21st year. So cool to be married to my best friend.
I realize how blessed I am to have a loving wife and children, great team mentors and advisors, and the most talented bunch of people to serve with at work, and an encouraging group of friends and family.
Looking forward to 2011
One of my many goals this year is to become more active on my blog and social networks. I value the learning I get from these activities and I will plan to spend more time here. Thanks to everyone that takes the time to engage.
Amy & Wendy are wrapping up their senior year of high school and are looking forward to college. I'm still getting used to the idea. A big shift from our one room school house where we've learned and laughed together for the past 18 years.
Looking forward to big enterprise sales in 2011 as more business recover from the financial downturn of the past few years.
I have a few new projects and products I hope to make progress on in the productivity/personal knowledge management space.
I'm thinking about joining either our church orchestra or choir this year. (I'm not sure the orchestra will want a Tenor Kazoo so it will probably be choir.)
I am still working my way through Janet Goldstein's Publishing Reset program for writers (Thanks, Jason for the tip!). I look forward to putting what I'm learning into practice and sharing with others through this blog.
I look forward to dating my wife and daughters more this year. They are each special to me and I am blessed to be surrounded by five lovely ladies.
I'm going to try to make 2011 a year of simplicity. I've shut down all but one server at home and I'm even simplifying the tech and apps I use at my desk. Of course, to achieve the level of simplicity I desire, I will probably have to venture into new levels of technological complexity to accomplish it. Go figure.
On the spiritual side, I'm excited to try a new approach to reading through the scriptures; I'll be using Prof Horner's Bible Reading System, a schedule of 10 parallel reading themes that promises a new perspective of God's Word. I have a new ESV translation of the Bible, a gift from Pastor Sumrall when I spoke in Manilla.
Finally, I'm looking forward to seeing how the Lord will work in my life and those of my family. Last year, we saw so many things (and those were just the ones we took the time to enumerate).
Finally, This year, I hope to be more quiet and observant as I seek to honor the Lord and serve him.
It's time to do a yearly review; clean up the old and organize myself for action 2011. Tomorrow, I will begin to reorganize my office, computer, and files for the new year.
I recently blogged about a Digital Christmas Story, told from a social networking perspective. Today, I'd like to share the story of the nativity as told by the children of St Paul’s Church of New Zealand. It took me a moment to get used to the setting - the seashore- until I realized that for them, Christmas is in the summer!
Based on a true story.
This is something I can envision Michael's kids doing. Not sure the wise men had light sticks, though. Maybe.
