A thought about outsourcing at holiday time by Tony Green

Holiday time has arrived, and as a parent you are contemplating getting your children the latest gaming technology whether it would be a new Wii, XBox, or Nintendo DS. Have you ever wondered who actually manufactures these products? Logically enough your first guess would be the manufacturer in this case Microsoft, Nintendo, or Apple. The truth is in many cases could not be farther from reality.

Manufacturing in time for the holidays

A company who manufactures another companies’ equipment is referred to as an Electronics Manufacturer Services (EMS) provider. The reason many companies chose not to make their own merchandise is that it is much cheaper to hire someone to manufacturer their products. The price a EMS provider charges to manufacture a product for per unit is summation of the expenditure to purchase the parts, referenced to as the standard cost,  plus a percentage of the cost of the material as a markup, in addition, to the labor charges to account for the time and effort to assemble. Any added fees, for example, SG&A and profit, can be added in as a fraction of the material cost or all of these costs can be incorporated in the material markup.

So when you are opening those gifts for Christmas and you find that things are not working as they should you may curse the gaming company but keep in mind the contracting manufacturing company who built the product who should really bearing the brunt of your angst. On the other hand they are not paid to placate customers, they are paid to build. And build they will.  

Cold Calling by Tony Green

Woman hearing the spiel from yet another cold call

            The debate over the merit of cold calling never seems to cease. There are those who live by the practice and others who find the act calling someone unsolicited selling products/services a waste of time. A Linked In posting I read a while back raised the question of whether quantifiable metrics existed which would allow determining the value of the old fashioned cold call. 

           

             Moreover, the arguments for both sides of the issue have been documented in various mediums. For instance, there are a number of books written on how to cold call well. One title I would recommend, is “Cold Calling techniques that work“written by Stephen Shiffman. On the other hand, Frank Rumbauskus, the author of Never Cold Call Again eloquently voiced the feeling many sales people embody which is a better way exists to generate sales of a product or service.

My experience a salesperson tells me more efficient and less interruptive ways can be employed to entice customers to buy from you.  However, I would be negligent if I failed to point out on there are a few, very selected instances where cold calling is the way to go.

The first instance is to provide insight to encourage interest in a potential offering. Occasionally a prospect has an idea about how your product can help but needs to wrap his/her hands around the technology in order to fully understand your value proposition. In this case the easiest way to move forward is to engage the prospect in a conversation.

Another instance is to determine if your potential customer is using a competitor. If you can obtain that key information out of the person (even if the prospect tells you only to get you off of the phone) at some point in the future you can plan approach them in response to your competitor and penetrate the account.

I am sure other examples which you could add. In short, although contacting someone without previous communication can be painful in selected instances you should not dismiss picking up your telephone and reaching out as a method of beginning the process of getting to the sale.

Go Nuclear, Close cycle by Tony Green

Steaming nuclear plant 

Many validated and well researched arguments exist supporting going ahead with nuclear power as a partial solution to our energy woes. Some on the pros include reduced environmental energy production and carbon emissions. Those in opposition suggest the high costs, requirement for waste disposal, environmental, safety issues, and fuel availability are reason enough not to move forward.

In spite of these arguments nuclear power still provides 20% of our nations power requirements. Without a doubt this number would be higher it not for the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island nuclear accidents.

In my view nuclear power works. I may be biased as a result of my experience as an Ex Navy Nuke but I have seen nuclear power plant run safely thanks in a large part to the disciplined attention to detail demanded as part of the training process.

With that said one of the “enemies” of nuclear power still needs to be addressed before the public can but into a growth of nuclear power on the large scale. The issue is of nuclear waste. Since there is material which needs to be disposed of after its use in the nuclear generation process this is referred to an open cycle.

Uranium occurs naturally in two forms: U235 and U238. U238 more abundant but it is not readily fissionable in light-water reactors. Light water reactors are reactors which use water to slow the speed of the neutrons to the level which will result in sustainable fissions.

U235 is fissionable but its concentration is 0.7% in natural uranium. Reactors in general require up to 5% U235 by weight. The enrichment process is how you get from natural levels of uranium to the levels used in nuclear reactors commonly referred to as Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). The process to convert natural Uranium to LEU fuel is known as the nuclear fuel cycle.

Low-enriched uranium (LEU) is defined as having a concentration of U235 of less than 20%. For use in commercial light water reactors (LWR), the uranium is enriched to concentration of 3 to 5%. 

The steps for producing the material begin with Mining and milling. In this step the natural or enriched uranium is removed from the earth in the form of ore then crushed and concentrated. The next step is conversion in which the concentrates are combined with fluorine gas to produce uranium hexafluoride. UF6 is shipped to an enrichment plant.  Once at the enrichment plant the material is processed to increase concentration of U235 isotope in the UF6 in its natural state to 5% which is usable as fuel in light water reactors.

The uranium which is at a useable concentration is it ready for fuel fabrication. The LEU is converted to uranium oxide and formed into small ceramic pellets by fabricators. The pellets are loaded into metal tubes which form fuel assemblies which are shipped to nuclear plants and used in nuclear reactors. Once the reactor lifetime is completed the material which remains produces high levels of radioactivity.

Currently when a nuclear reactor is decommissioned the materials with its core are still highly radioactive. Many of the by-products boast half lives of thousands of years therefore precautions must be taken in order to protect the environment. Most nuclear facilities utilize local places on site to store waste in the short term. In the long term the waste will be deposited to a repository. At the moment the principal location for eventual disposal of nuclear waste is a Yucca mountain in Nevada.

As technology has cleared the way to change our lives technology in this case will be needed to avert having to handle the radioactive material. A pair of possibilities is developing fast fission reactor which produce a reduced amount of waste, or develop the technologies where the uranium used can be recycled which would effectively close the cycle. 

If not the anti nuclear folks could win out in their argument and ensure nuclear plans are not utilized as a possible solution of our increasing power requirements. What a shame that would be.

Wind and 1603 tax credit by Tony Green

Sign from 2009 AWEA Exhibition

I am a member of the AWEA and recently I received an email about Tax Credit 1603 which was receiving bad press by politicians using it as leverage to either get elected or win election. I thought I had a good deal for familiarity with wind from my time working sales and marketing manager. Later I determined wind installations were still being completed, although not a rate seen in previous years and 1603 was the reason why. 

The cash grant program replaced the renewable energy tax credit program which fell apart during the 2008-2009 financial crises.

The U.S. Treasury’s newly provided Section 1603 funding program as an alternative to the system that used to be in place. Under the new program, alternative energy project developers who were eligible for the production tax credit but were not able to use it due to the crisis had the option elect to receive a cash grant for a similar value. This grant proved to be critical for these development companies, above all wind energy, and their employees and new job-seekers in the industry.

The reason was many energy developers, in particular smaller firms, were not making profits. If a company does not owe any taxes they are not eligible for the credits. These companies, before the financial crisis, would sell the tax credit to a bank or some other large financial institution, which might use these credits to offset some of its taxable earnings. The renewable energy company would then apply these funds to build the project. The economic emergency put an end to this model, as the tax equity partners disappeared leaving developers with credits they could not use. The cash grant program rectified this situation by providing the option of a cash award in lieu of the tax credit. In addition, the program resulted in needed cash going straight to alternative energy developers as the economy struggled out of the recession. The actual cost to the government remained the same because the net cost of giving out a grant to a developer is identical to the cost of providing a credit. It turned out to be a workable method of using existing federal resources to boost economic recovery for all developers, but for renewable energy developers who do not otherwise owe taxes, the value is significantly greater.

I also learned the program is set to expire at the end of this year. Interestingly enough since oil, gas, coal, and nuclear industries all have permanent incentives I though wind would be in line to receive incentives.  Unless Congress acts soon to extend the 1603 plan the wind industry will be stall once again.

In a country that is looking for clean source of alternative energy to provide high quality jobs to Americans is this something we as a nation want to partake in?  What are the oil and gas industries contributions to pulling this country of its recession?

Twitter an idea whose time will come By Tony Green

Twitter... What is happening now..

 My personal Twitter account is centered on certain interest areas as I am sure yours is. For instance, I am interested in alternative energy and Internet marketing. Let’s say I sent a tweet which was is focused towards one area to followers in one group, the odds are the message will not exhibit any relevance in the other group.

I do not know about you but with all of the tweets I get and send out during the course of a week it would be nice to filter some irrelevant messages out.  Likewise, there would be value to being able to send select messages which are catered to your followers.

Toward this goal the idea of sending tweets to predetermined lists members beforehand seems exceedingly logical I searched the Internet and Twitter’s help function on how to accomplish this task and I found out this feature at this time does not exist. My first was, bummer, but my second and prevailing thought was this will eventually be a reality.

The idea of social media is engaging with your users. Companies like Twitter and Facebook have attracted many users due to the fact the medium allows them to engage with folks with similar interest and backgrounds.

My thinking is if enough folks are interested in this feature Twitter will make my prediction a reality. The feature is about allowing higher quality interactions.  Once this attribute is enabled check out my Twitter profile. @Tony_Green. Perhaps you could wind up on one my preselected lists at some time in the future. I just need to make sure I create some meaningful to tweet to you about.  

Looking at a green career: I should be fine right? by Tony Green

At a choice of career paths

Here I am between positions again. This time I am going to fight to begin a career in something I am passionate about instead of slithering back to work on the first lousy employment offer I can get.

Assuming the cash reserves do not run out my goal of landing a green job which everyone is saying is going to drive the new economy is still alive.

Am I fooling myself? The writings of the research professionals reiterate I am not. In the just released Clean Tech job trends for 2010 the authors report the top five sectors for Clean Job activity are in no particular order: Solar, Biofuel, Smart Grid, Wind, and finally Advanced transportation/vehicles.

I looked at my resume and reflected on my work with epoxy resins used in wind turbine blades and advanced vehicles i.e. Electric vehicles, Hybrid Vehicles, and Plug-in vehicles.I also observed many of the folks in the solar industry came from the semiconductor sector as the technology to manufacture a Photo-Voltaic (PV) cell is very similar to producing an integrated chip. Another review of my work history includes over 5 years experience working as a Product engineer/Application engineer with Semiconductor OEM's manufacturers.    

Biofuel is the only one which is not covered. Though I do not claim experience in biofuel I do hold an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering. Would you think that would provide enough training to figure it out?

Furthermore, when the area where clean tech are predicted to be in the most demand not to my surprise the San Francisco Bay area was at the top of the list. I have heard there are times where you need to move where the jobs are. In my case, I have lived here for over 10 years.    

So since I can work in all five top Clean Job growth areas and live in an area which boosts the most clean job opportunities what I worried about?  In short I am concerned about everything. All of "resume bullets" are wonderful. But without something which makes money to pay bills it does not do much good. I hope things pick up like everyone says they will. The optimist in me tells me with some marketing, networking and a modest recovery I can make the world see what an asset I would be to any organization.

Professionally I should be fine, right? If not, please let me know because I'll need to derive another plan and fast.

What was that about a Renewable Energy Standard (R.E.S.) by Tony Green

Currently in the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) advocates the implementation a national Renewable Energy Standard. (R.E.S.) This is intended to primarily ensure demand to drive growth in the wind turbine industry.  In recent times wind installations have slowed down because of the credit crunch and economic climate. In spite of recession a large amount of development in the sector is now underway.

Despite a national RES not being in existence the RES concept has moved forward. Thirty states opted to implement a required RES while two more states utilize voluntary renewable standards.

An RPS requires electric utilities and other retail electric providers to supply a specified minimum amount of customer load with electricity from eligible renewable energy sources. The goal of an RPS is to stimulate market and technology development, in due course allowing cleaner forms of energy will be economically competitive with conventional forms of electric power.

The benefits of an RES include environmental improvement (e.g., avoided air pollution, global climate change mitigation, waste reduction, habitat preservation, conservation of valuable natural resources), increased diversity and security of energy supply.  Furthermore, local economic development resulting from new jobs, taxes, and revenue associated with new renewable capacity and provides a clear and long-term target for renewable energy generation can increase investors' and developers' confidence in the prospects for alternative energy.

Wind energy seems to be making significant progress in regards to fulfilling its potential as an energy source. Wouldn’t it be sad to lose all of the momentum generated by the advances in technology? If you do not believe in the importance of a RES please think again.

No more regional business? by Tony Green

The first week in a new position is typically spent getting used to new co-workers, systems, and processes.  But there are times where you encounter something which makes to think.

I was reviewing the companies’ brochures and I read a statement which stated in their view in the future regional businesses would be a thing of the past. The idea was due to the Internet altering the method products are selected regional marketplaces will be eliminated and transformed into one large global market.

The company focused on providing growth consulting solutions globally so this seemed quite logical. On a deeper level, my initial feeling was customers, who are on a local and provincial basis have requirements which are relevant to their locality and would be most attracted to a customized local offering.

In a previous position I came from a regional company who wanted to become global by expanding their offerings. I remember many of the challenges I faced trying to create a market plan to expand our offerings and being met by resistance due to the fact my methods failed to be agree with their regional perspective.

Over time the actuality became to clear to me management was not ready to become global since the management could not stop looking at global markets from its local viewpoint.

The concept of one all encompassing international market would be reality if every person on earth lived in one location with identical way of filling their needs. The Internet allows communication and dialog across the different people and individuals but the medium does not allow everyone to be the same even if a requirement to market to smaller groups existed.  

What if they are right and regional businesses became a thing of the past? In that case, the result would be lot of companies with cloudy futures. For now I will need to let their futures work themselves out. I have a job to learn.

This too will pass by Tony Green

The scenes of the oil soaked beaches in the Gulf, fair to say, left an indelible impression on everyone. British Petroleum (BP), the operator of the rig which exploded, has taken a huge hit in its public relations. Every media outlet had taken turns, especially CNN to, bash BP at every opportunity. BP had pledged to pay for the entire cleanup and well as compensate those whose lives were affected so drastically by the spill as well it should.

The fact is the oil industry should boast some extra cash in its coffers. The oil sector as a whole has recorded revenues and profits over the last 10 years. According to a money.cnn article the top two companies of the Fortune 500 for 2008 happened to be oil companies which totaled in profits of over 78 billion dollars.

A CRS report to Congress as of early 2008 stated the oil industry, in general, and its member companies continued to generate high profits since 2004. For example, by most familiar comparisons, the $9.92 billion profit earned by Exxon Mobil Corp. in just three months in the second quarter of 2005 is almost unimaginable.

On the topic of Exxon back in time the spilling of 11 million gallons of crude oil ( 257,000 barrels) of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska was the largest spill prior to April’s explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Exxon’s status at the time of the spill the company was routinely posting strong revenues and profits. BP likewise also exhibited strong revenue and profit numbers.

Moreover, Exxon made high profits even in the aftermath of the most expensive oil spill in history. They made $3.8 billion profit in 1989 and $5 billion in 1990. And this occurred while Exxon disputed cleanup costs nearly every step of the way.


In short, Exxon, BP, and the oil industry are doing fine and I expect this will not change when once assesses the facts.

Consumption of oil is all about demand and the economy. We need oil for electricity and transportation. Alternative energy will alleviate but a major impact will not be any time before 2050. The financial market in general goes up and down and will not be down forever.

That is why if I happened to be a BP stockholder I would worry much more about the damage the environment than the Value of their investment. If history says anything about this spill, for BP similar to Exxon twenty years before, this too will pass.

When a job was what they told you what it was going to be by Tony Green

My time in the Silicon Valley has spanned over 10 years. On multiple occasions I experienced the need/desire to seek employment. Either I was looking for a better position or had been caught in layoffs during downturns in the economy. You know the drill.

The process starts with reading the job description for the position either on lime or through a headhunter. Once a match is found and you meet the minimum requirements you move to the next step which is normally a phone interview.

A face-to-face interview occurs where you discuss the resume; perhaps you asked some good questions such as why the opening is available, what happens to the last person in the position and how long that person was there. From what you have been told this opportunity is just what you are looking and your skill-set is in line with what the employer is looking for.

You get the position after negotiating to the salary/commission/bonus and start date. Once benefits paperwork has been submitted ready and orientation is complete you are ready to immerse yourself with job at hand.

A month into your new gig you come to the realization of what the job really is. In many cases, your day to day activities make you realize you new job is not the job you are qualified for, wanted to do, or was discussed through the entire interview process. Time goes by and after you reach a certain point the decision is made to put feelers out for new positions.

How could this happen? In my view, if you tell someone one thing about a job and the information is not the truth won’t folks figure things out over time once they get into the position? It is possible to get references about a company or a position but it is difficult to get a feel until you are on the inside. This fact gives the employer the opportunity to be honest about what they are looking and increasing the chances the applicant is matched for the job they truly need to be done. Would a better method entail being upfront in regard to what a job actually entails? Because once a new hire becomes disgruntled and begins looking for other positions they are not fully engaged to your job or your company. Perhaps being honest would make hiring applicants harder and take more time to fill positions but the cost of this should be much less than the price tag of rapid turnover of employees.

A thought about our depressed economy by Tony Green

I was talking to my sister about the fact even though I was fortunate enough to regain employment the country’s economic health is still in a very depressed state. I told her I thought the climate would have improved by now. Since the economy is historically cyclic, I reasoned, provided enough time transpires inevitably the upturn would arrive. She replied with something which stopped me dead in my tracks. She attended a sermon a few weeks back and her pastor mentioned the possibility the current state of economy reflected how things were going to be going forward. In other words, the economy of the last 10 years existed on a bubble based on a hype cycle which has now corrected itself.

This seemed extreme at first; however, when I thought about the recent updated appraisal for my home I received in the mail last week the idea did not seem so farfetched. Without getting into specifics I will say the value of my house is now a fraction of its value when I purchased it only 6 years ago.

This fact now puts me “under water” in regards to mortgage with many other Americans. Fortunately, I do not plan to sell at a loss even if any prospective buyer could get financing with today credit crunch. For now at least I am employed. What are all of the people who are out of work, in spite of the fact of the recent reinstatement of long term unemployment benefits, going to do if no relief can be expected to arrive any time soon?

Oil Sands by Tony Green

What does the term “Oil Sands” mean to you? In the event you are not native to Canada the answer may be cloudy. Other terms used to describe may more familiar, some of which include extra heavy oil and tar sands. All of these are types of bitumen deposits which are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and bitumen, a dense and viscous form of petroleum. The materials are so viscous that at room temperature its behavior resembles cold molasses.

They are found in large amounts in many countries throughout the world, but exist in extremely large quantities in Canada, Russia, and Venezuela.

Deposits of bitumen are formed from the remains of ancient, microscopic algae and other once-living things. At the time these organisms died, their remains were deposited in the mud on the bottom of the ocean or lake where they lived. Under the heat and pressure of burial deep in the earth, the remnants were transformed into this material.

The thick properties of the bitumen allow use for paving roads, waterproofing products and for sealing flat roofs. Naturally occurring crude bitumen is the prime feed stock for petroleum production from tar sands currently under development in Alberta, Canada. Canada has most of the world's supply of natural bitumen, giving our northern neighbor the second largest proven oil reserves in the world.

Why shouldn’t we tap this resource? The technology required to extract the crude oil in a format which in can be converted into material we use such as diesel and gasoline is still in beginning stages of development. In short, converting the bitumen to oil which can be processed involves injecting steam into the deposit to remove the water and extracting the petroleum rich deposits.

How is this for a thought? In the event non-traditional means of producing oil are not adopted soon why not turn our attention to Oil Sands as to a source of crude oil to our friendly neighbor to the north?

Think of it this way, in light of the recent calamity in the Gulf of Mexico it is very difficult to spill tar deposits from an oil tanker.

Photo Courtesy of http://ostseis.anl.gov

Biomass by Tony Green

We have all been using biomass for centuries. Do you remember roasting marsh-mellows over an open fire while camping? What was occurring is the energy which stored in the log was being released by burning. The wood within the log was formed through photosynthesis resulting from the sun’s energy being stored in the chemical bonds of the log. The result was the feeling of warmth and a damned tasty marsh-mellow.
Simply defined, biomass is all plant material, or vegetation, raw or processed, wild or cultivated. Examples include wood and agricultural waste and crop residue. As a source it is not so important about the type of biomass which goes in but the fact many types of these resources are for the most part discarded. And more importantly what comes out from these wood based materials and how it can be used to help solve our energy problems.
How is biomass processed? There are three ways to process biomass. The first one is Gasification in which biomass is heated without oxygen. The process converts the biomass to a mixture of CO and H2 which is called “Syngas” for synthetic gas. The gas mixes with oxygen without difficulty and is burned in turbines to generate electricity in a fashion similar to natural gas. Additionally the gas can be converted with ease to other fuels, chemicals, and valuable materials.
The second method of processing is Pyrolysis in which the bio-material is heated under high temperature and high pressure all while carefully controlling the air supply. The result is up to 75% of biomass being converted to liquid which is can be used in engines, turbines, or boilers.
The last method is referred to as anaerobic digestion in which the biomass is decomposed with micro-organisms in closed tanks known as anaerobic digesters. This process produces methane (natural gas), CH4 and carbon dioxide, CO2. Methane-rich biogas can be used as fuel or as a base chemical for bio-based products.
Regardless of the method the key is the biomass which until now would have been wasted can now be utilized to produce electricity or some other valuable by product. Consider the possibilities the next time you go camping.

Father’s Day 2010 By Tony Green

I checked the mail once I got home from work and I noticed I had received a card. I was surprised since my birthday had already passed and I figured it would be a while until any occasions where I should be receiving correspondence other than a billing statement.

The card was sent from my brother for father’s day. When I mentioned to my wife I received a card she replied,” Don’t worry we didn’t forget father’s day”, since the day was upcoming. Frankly I had.

I didn’t grow up with a father in the house so I grew accustomed to not planning for the day. Therefore Father’s day was not something that typically came up on my radar as something I needed to take care like Mother’s day. In my view the second Friday in June functioned as only another Sunday. The occasion still does not enter my mind even though I have been a father for over 10 years.

I do not need a gift of a card to realize the impact my children have made on me. I am grateful that I can at least participate in their upbringing, which is more than I can say about my father. My yearly gift is being a part of their lives.

How did I spend Father’s day this year? In the morning I played Wii with my daughter while on the afternoon I took my son to see Toy Store III, later the family went out to eat. Is it surprising I spent Father’s Day with my kids? I am father, after all, on this day and everyday are long as my children are with me.

The price of implementing clean energy by Tony Green

I read an article written by Michelle Kraus as a Special to the Mercury News titled,” Clean tech in the future but funding is another story” which talked about the challenges of investing in clean tech. The piece reported the credit needed to fund renewable energy projects, which are extremely capital intensive, has become a challenge with the struggling economy.

Many of the ventures, in spite of their fascinating technology, are not making any money, really profit, and contain no guarantees their technology is scalable, i.e. able to be adopted in large scale.

Unless a company enjoys access to wealthy people or banks willing to loan money into these ventures or provide an available line of credit surviving it may be difficult to get these businesses to generate enough sales to sustain them, let’s be honest, bootstrapping can only go so far.

The fact remains without the financial support the alternative energies need promising technologies and companies who can change the way we live such as Google, Cisco, and Microsoft might not become the companies they are today.
The reality is VC’s, angels and other institutional investors built Silicon Valley from its beginnings as much as the innovators who founded companies and their dedicated employees are the investors whose money to allowed these innovators to chase their dreams.

Now what? The current circumstances require innovative solutions to these problems be determined. Necessity is the mother and father of invention. People will find a way. Our energy future depends on it.

Back to High school by Tony Green

Last month I had the opportunity to visit Woodside High School on Woodside, California to discuss Green careers with 10th graders. My trip was a part of an engineering outreach program sponsored by the Silicon Valley Engineering Council (SVEC) where an engineer took an hour to speak with students.

My presentation walked through what types of energy could be classified as renewable, the definition of a green job, as well as the factors which will result in four million green jobs by 2038 and why they wanted to be on the side of folks with the skills required to be hired in these jobs.

In short, I recommended the students, “Live it, learn it, and hit the books”.
While I was at Woodside I got a chance to visit a garden the tenth graders planted and landscaped and even included a chicken coop. The plan involved growing vegetables organically and learning the principles of composting. The on-hands approach seems to be an excellent way to learn a bit more about the environment the green movement is intended to protect.

A while later another student stepped into the classroom, he was not in either of the classes I spoke with, who wanted to share his idea to create a method to generate energy using the water that came from the water company. What would be achievable if everyone aggressively pursued ways to make the world a better place?

In my view, it is wonderful the renewable energy awareness is beginning to creep into our schooling. Ultimately the adoption of green will be dependent on everyone being educated about alternative energy and are aware of the value of protecting the environment.

I felt, upon leaving, if this is the future of our education system and these students in the long run become the concerned green consumers of tomorrow everything this just might turn out alright.

Maintaining your PC by Tony Green

If you are like me when you are working on your computer you are not working with one window using one program. In general I use multiple programs with multiple windows open. Why would I need so many windows in use at once? First of all, your email program is a must so you can keep track of any incoming messages that require your immediate attention, your Internet browser which allows you to keep up with any late breaking news, and any other programs you may be using.

Occasionally the performance of your computer slows down to where your ability to get things done without waiting for programs to respond becomes a challenge. As you would expect, this “lockup” always occurs when you are up against a time limit where something needs to get done using your personal computer (PC). More times than not this could all have been avoided by taking these simple steps.

I have found performing these five steps save a good amount of time wrestling with performance issues. The first step is the defragmentation of your hard drive. This process moves the files which are located in various locations on your hard drive to more centralized location. This makes the task files of finding any files which may be stored easier by preventing your computer from searching the entire hard drive. The next step is to from time to time perform virus scans on your computer. These programs check for viruses which can affect files, degrade the performance of the computer.

Another excellent step is to now and then clean the files on your computer. Over time many temporary files can accumulate and removing these can speed up the operation of your computer. Next backing up files every so often is very important in preventing uncommon occurrences from causing you to lose all of your data in the event of a catastrophic failure of your system. Finally, you should start only the programs you intend to use. On many occasions all of the programs that are installed on the computer are automatically launched with the computer starts up. Over time this causes your PC to boot up at a snail's pace due to the time required to start all of the installed software. Start up only the ones you need during a session. This way you prevent wasting large amount of CPU and memory using programs you are not using.

Here is a link, as an example Windows 7 TuneUp ,to a program which I believe is useful in helping me maintain the performance of my computers. Perhaps these programs may help you to increase you unit’s performance as well.

Content Marketing by Tony Green

Through the years several self proclaimed versions of marketing which have caught fire, gained popularity and sold millions of book for their authors. The most famous ones are “Guerilla Marketing” by Jay Conrad Levinson, “Punk Marketing” by Mark Simmons and Richard Laerner, and “Duct Tape Marketing” by John Jantsch. I might define midnight marketing as conducting marketing activities under the radar against management against using the latest technology/techniques to reach customers. I am sure you might name a few or create your own.

When I saw the term “content marketing” on the view projector as I arrived slightly late after the beginning of the breakfast due to the usual Silicon Valley Traffic on Route 101 I was wondering if I would take away something I could use. The reason I came is I knew for the high tech marketer, particularly the Internet marketer, content was the endgame. Any some insight I had the opportunity to take away on topic would a good thing.

Any website manager will tell you we are all in the eyeballs business. Everyone is competing for viewers, page-views, click-through, which are all activities which use our eyeballs. Has anyone ever thought of what draws those eyeballs? That’s right the eyeball magnet is content.

Content provides useful or entertaining information through the preferred delivery medium the reader uses. Additionally, the content and its delivery correspond with the customers buying cycle. Optimizing the process is done by talking, reading, learning the business pains point, getting to customer to engage. The devil is in the
details is determining content which works best.

In my view this sounds like a reasonable take-away over some bacon and coffee. Once breakfast was finished and its participants were beginning to move to the next part of their day I thought to myself. What are my customers looking for and what is the best means to make their requested information available to them when they are most receptive? Alas, that is what content marketing at all about. You heard it now keep your eyes open for content marketing to join the other marketing version at a book store near you.

The idea for this posting came from workshop conducting for the Business Marketing Association BMA by Jon Assilian, CEO of Viewstream Company Website: http://www.viewstream.com

What is it with this Twitter stuff? By Tony Green

In the last few days I have seen the explosion in terms of Twitter. Seemingly everyone is mentioning Twitter in the same fashion where Facebook became huge and My Space usage exploded.

Just last night on ESPN the sportscasters were commenting after Shaq O’Neal sent a message on Twitter at half time of the game.

So as you would expect what do I do, log on to my Twitter account and signed up to follow him. Perhaps I can catch Shaq ranting’s in real time instead for waiting for SportsCenter to air its report.

Who wants to wait for anything nowadays? Everyone is so busy who wants to sit down and process anything? That is the ultimate reason Twitter is catching on. The format is consistent with real life. Life is a snapshot of small events. Twitter captures those small snapshots in real time. Regardless of where you are and what you may be doing.

Now I can receive Shaq’s updates without waiting for anyone. And I can receive them uncensored. Can you beat the immediate access? (assuming Shaq does writes his own tweets, which may be the subject of another blog).

I’ll check on what you are doing in real time if you do not mind me peeking through the mundane snapshots of your life. Feel free to capture mine, my Twitter profile is Tony_Green. Follow me and I’ll send you a Tweet!

The regulation of Social Media by Tony Green

I read in the latest edition of Smart Money Magazine that the financial industry was making a move towards regulating Social Media.

This, of course, seems odd as the whole point of social media in many respects is to deregulate the communications between a company and its customers allow uninterrupted insights into their desires and wishes. One of these wishes is to receive response to questions in inquiries in a non intrusive manner and in real time.
The financial industry had been using Social Media applications, such Twitter and Facebook, to pass out investment advice. The type of advice includes a full range of services from the most promising stock sectors to pitching the latest benefits of annuities.

The problem is the hyping of stock and the advent of false marketing claims is forcing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to take action in the same fashion FINRA regulates print advertising and commercials. FINRA regulation apply to brokerages fund companies and their employees. Its function is to govern what information can and cannot say in its communications. If an employee breaks any of the established rules the firm may be subject to fines and bans. The regulations do not cover all of the industry, for instance if the broker works on his/her own and not with a firm the rules do not apply.

Many industries have been late to embrace social media as a legitimate means of communicating to its customer even to the effect is has to change its rules in response to its impact.

It is nice to note Social Media is finally being appreciated for being a part on the conversation spectrum, even if that means regulation.

Distributed grid model? by Tony Green

When I read about Bloom Energy’s “Bloom Boxes “, I thought,” Wow, is fuel cell technology, at last, on its way?” Fuel cells have been discussed for years as a potential source of energy but the technology was not at a place so it could achieve commercial adoption.

The reason for this, to a certain extent, is the catalysts required to convert hydrogen and oxygen to its by-products of water, heat and electricity are very expensive. The breakthrough Bloom has made to allow using sand as the catalyst which is readily available and therefore much cheaper than the expensive metals which comprises today’s catalysts.

Once I read further I learned EBay, Cypress, and Google were using the fuel cells to save their companies a large amount of money on their electric usage. In a sense the fuel cells are providing a local source of power for their facilities which was renewable.

Then the light came on about the bigger meaning of this announcement. The greater issue is the question of whether this be a new proposed model of a distributed power grid? The idea is instead of today’s model where power is produced in large quantities and transported to the location where electricity is needed the sources might be produced locally in close proximity to where the demand is generated. Will this be a trend of the future?

This potential was affirmed when I heard about the idea of building miniature nuclear power plants, designed not to provide large amount of power but to supply enough for a local grid. These mini nukes, as they were referred, would generate the power, which would be renewable, needed to provide electricity on a local level.

The need to overhaul the transmission grid of electricity to support Smart Grid technology had been discussed and is covered in President Obama's plan. Transmission lines are expensive and will take years to build. In addition the policy and regulation required would mean a decade or so would transpire from the plan to the actual building of the transmission lines.

Is this another option which would allow renewable energy to ease the pressure the oil shortage while making the world a better place? It seems logical to me this is something we should all seriously investigate. What do you think?

10 recommendations for personal website optimization by Tony Green

You have finally decided to launch your personal website. The primary goal is to own your name on Google. Even if you are not ranked number one then, at minimum, to place consistently on the top of the fold of Search Results. Where do you start? Google uses over 200 parameters in order to choose the most relevant ranking for a given keyword what can do to get a good start on improving your showing on Google?
Here are my recommendations that I found effective in getting started on working my personal website to the top of the results for my name.

1. Personal Name in URL

The key word on the URL is exceedingly important. For a personal site you want to ensure your name in included in one way or the other. In the event you are unable to get the URL you desire a URL with your name included will suffice, example, www.tonygreen.name. In my case www.tonygreen.com was already taken so I used mytonygreen.com

2. Personal Blog link to and from website

It is worthwhile once a website is created to try to launch a blog was well and ensure they are linked to each other. This maximizes your chances to places well for your name and allows the possibility of one visitor to visit both sites. The links which are established will give a boost to your results.

3. Use name in as many anchors as possible

In order to maximize the chance of your name placing well in search results anchors are a good tools. This involves including your name in any links going to other pages on your website or to an external location. As an example on the homepage of my website I have the link to my blog as “Tony Green Blog” instead of the full URL which is http://www.markanthonyblogspot.com

4. Use name in website page Title

One of the items that you should think about when deciding the name of the heading sections is trying to include your full name. Heading sections are important as it tells Google what the site is about. Try to ensure the subject of the page, you, is contained in the heading. For example on my website the site I dedicated to marketing is called Tony Green Marketing. Be sure to make the HTML as H1, H2 and simply increase the font size of the header.

5. Use personal name in alt image tags for all pictures posted to the site example tony photo

Ensure all photos placed on your site have in the alt tag. Not only will this enable those who are disabled to know what your picture is about but allow your name to show up the results under images. The alt tag in contained within the html that accompanies the image. For example a personal photo in my case could use Tony Green’s photo in the alt tag.

6. Use name in file names

When you load you file to the server try to include your name whenever possible. In the event you want visitors to your website to download files try to have the file with the name included. Example if you wanted to post a copy of your resume a possible name for the file could be “Tony Green’s Resume”.

7. Use name in H1 tag

Try to use your name in any headings, if possible. This should be implemented not only for the title but any situation where content is classified by use of a header.

8. Use name intermittently in text

In attempts to indicate a page of your website is about you try use your name while trying to maintain readability. Your name should be used in enough frequency to let the search engine spider know what the page is about. A good guide is to refer to your name page in 2-5% of the word on a page.

9. Use name in Title Tag

The title tag is what tells what the page is about. It is what shown up on a browser in the upper left hand corner. Example, Tony’s Green Website

10. Use name on Meta Description

Include the name in the character text that tells the search engine spider what the site is about. In my case in the homepage of my site I use the terms, Tony Green website, Tony Green’s professional life and Tony Green’s life story.

These tips will not ensure you will be able to place your personal website at the top of the search engine rankings. Your content and the time that your website exists in addition to your completion will have a great influence on your placement. From time to time the criteria search engines use to determine page rankings change. However, these ten tips should put you well on the road to placing well for your name. Why not own it? It is your name, isn’t it?

Five neat things about a submarine by Tony Green

Currently approximately 425,000 sailors serve in United States Navy. Of the only 7% are officially designated are submarine qualified. The submarine force is an all volunteer meaning a person must declare their desire to be stationed aboard a submarine. The submarine force tries to select the best and the brightest since the crews are on average smaller than other vessels its crew members are required to performed more functions than other sailors. For example on many surface boats a damage control party exists whose specific job is extinguishing any fires which may occur. The submarine crew has to put out its own fires which require some basic damage control knowledge so the crew is prepared for any emergency.

Due to its mission a good of deal of equipment is unique to submarines yet other gear common across the entire Navy is used. After four years aboard a submarine here are five neat things I recall which may not catch your attention initially.

Oxygen

The submarine creates its own supply of oxygen for the crew to breathe. The oxygen is produced by the hydrolysis of the seawater the submarine travels through. The water molecule, H₂0, is split up into its constituent molecules of oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen goes into the ships oxygen banks to be bleed off as needed to maintain levels for breathing while the hydrogen created from the process is expelled overboard.

Water

The ships drinking water, potable is also produced by the same process. Seawater distilled by vaporizing the water drawn from the ocean using heat to produce fresh water. The principle is the boiling point of the pure water is lower than the ordinary seawater due to its higher content of salt. The desalinated water is collected then separated and stored for use. This is normally conducted under vacuum in order to reduce the heat required make the process more efficient. On our boat the distiller was typically referred to as the 10K evaporator. Clear water goes to the ships potable supply while the concentrated salt (brine) gets pumped back into the sea. If you wonder about the flavor of the drinking water I can vouch and say without hesitation the water is better than the water that comes out of your tap.

Comes equipped with a power plug

Whenever the submarine is in port is nuclear power reactor which provides power while the ship is underway is by and large shutdown. What keeps the lights on and the equipment functioning? The answer is the submarine in strange sense has a plug. This “plug” is much larger than the one that powers your refrigerator. The cable is referred as the shore power cable. This refers to the three large cables which are screwed into the places designated in the aft escape hatch that allows power for the base to provide electricity the submarine.

Battery and Diesel included

A battery is included as well as if there was not enough apparatus aboard the submarine. Even though rechargeable, this battery is not similar to the battery on your Toyota Prius hybrid but a robust lead acid battery which provides power only on the event of an emergency. A robust battery is needed while at sea as since the reactor/steam plant is your method of propulsion which keeps you afloat. A loss of the ability to move forward through the water can be life threatening if sustained for a long period of time. In addition a diesel generator to provide power in the event an additional mode of propulsion was needed. The generator is used in an emergency while the ship is on the surface of the ocean as a diesel needs air to produces the combustion which turns diesel fuel into electricity. I had the opportunity to visit a decommissioned diesel power sub from World War II and I could not help but smell the diesel even though this museum had not used its diesel generator for over 40 years. Can never miss the aroma of diesel……

No windows needed

Many tourists enjoy going on tour of submersible vessel which operates under the water in the same fashion a submarine does. Typically the captain takes the vessel down to a depth of 100 feet or so allowing the visitors to observe all of the colorful fish swimming about. This raises the question what the ocean looks like from a submerged submarine. Sorry to say at the depths which a submarine operates there is not much sunlight with the ability to penetrate to that depth so there would not be much to glimpse. Thus a submarine has no need for windows. Imagine being in a room with no windows for two months or so without a break. I and all submariners can as this is what you sign up for. For the record, I never said submariners were normal.

Many of the effects were designed to allow the submarine to complete its mission. The items I listed are a few of the interesting things I can mention about the operation of submarine. Imagine the things I signed piles of paperwork when I left the Navy not to mention……

Never to proud to accept help by Tony Green

Layoffs are never easy regardless of the state of the economy. It is difficult for seasoned professionals who are used to getting up and earning a good living on their own to admit they need a helping hand to get back on their feet. On the one hand you are not proud of the fact you are out of work. Yet on the other hand you never may identify who may be in a position to help you. You want to be open but you do not want to seem desperate.

Case in point, I was at the swimming lesson with my son and I started a conversation with one of the other parents whose son and daughter were completing their lessons. I discovered his wife worked at an employment placement agency. I had worked with the agency before in a previous position before but my recollection of them was they did not work with positions which fit my background. I glanced at my son practicing his backstroke and when he turned around handed his cell phone to me. His wife was on the phone waiting to speak. Quite frankly the action surprised me. I felt somewhat awkward at first and I nearly declined to take the call.

I thought here might be an opportunity I would not come across otherwise. So I spoke with her and described the position I desired. She told me to send her my resume and she would see what might be available. Prior to hanging up I thanked her for your time and handed the phone back to her husband. I made sure as soon as I returned home, so I would not forget, I sent her my resume as an attachment in an email. Who knows what will result but I motivated since it seemed I was not alone in this endeavor.

No I never said I could not ask for help because of my pride. If only I did not need assistance as much as I have lately in the challenging economy…

No Comment by Tony Green

I was poking around of blogger.com after a long day of work and I checked how many blogs had comments associated with them.

One blog I read which happened to be written by “chemist” caught my eye. The blogger mentioned he had been to California for the first time for work remarked about its beauty and how ideal a place it would be to live. This did not surprise to me as I have lived in the Bay Area for eight years and could not think of living anywhere else.

The point, which caught my attention, was the number of remarks on his blogs as he traveled from place to place reporting the sights of the places he visited. Some comments simply stated, “right on”.

I wondered if this person worked as an accomplished blogger with a loyal following. State in another way, were all of the bloggers who commented looking around the Internet like me and stumbled across this blog entry? One way or another folks had taken time to respond on his entries and only just touching the blogs I had written.

As you might expect comments are not the reason I write my personal blog, I mean every dumb ass can write about anything and post material on the Internet so I figured why not. On many occasions, other people’s blogs are more informative and pertinent than the published material in the mass media. However, I thought to myself, how do I get more people to comment as I write?

In my view, blogging comes down to writing content, which strike a strong enough chord with people to respond.

My initial thought postulated the folks who read all my blogs failed to comment must have done do for the following reasons. Conceivably, they did not take time to comment. Perhaps they had nothing to say. Another possibility was they did not know how to express what they thought. Here is a funny one, my content was interesting and my readers are out to lunch. Seriously, the most likely reason was the thoughts I penned on paper simply did not warrant commenting, as what I wrote had no meaning to anyone.

Whew! Now my secret is out in the open. With that thought just to be safe, I should get to work on creating valuable content. This will in all likelihood serve me better creating quality than to wonder about what I created in the past.

Photo courtesy of Elymedia.com

Why do I subject myself to this? By Tony Green

One day you go to you work and you have a bad day. The job was miserable therefore many days were lousy which is why you were trying to move on to something better.
Even though circumstances were adding up to this the pink slip is still a surprise. You figured you do your job as they were paying you and once you landed something else you would leave with your head held high.

I live in Silicon Valley and if you had not guessed I work in high-tech and just found out I received a lay-off notice once the economy becomes challenging.
The last time I thought, “This is an aberration”. At this point, I asked why do stay here and deal with this? I possess qualities which are valuable to any company.

Let’s look at the question like this. I am in high-tech industries where once things go south for a company for whatever the reason employee are shown “the gate” as reducing headcount is the quickest way to cut costs.

Every employee who gets laid off is not doing a bad job. The fact still stays the same; you need to get another job in order to keep bills paid while explaining to your future prospective employer’s on why your co-workers were chosen to stay.
As for the future I wanted to choose a new job I enjoyed. My mother has suggested that I get a government job in spite of its long and inefficient application process.
Truth be told, there is nothing wrong with working for the government. Civil service positions are safe jobs you will maintain your employment unless a criminal offense is committed and get a pension you are finished. Most importantly you will not get laid off.

Upon thought is being safe what I covet? Or would I like an opportunity to succeed in the place where many have taken risks and if they did not become millionaires did very well for themselves?

I yearn for a chance to achieve something among the world’s most talented individuals in the most innovative environment.

I will get back, hopefully sooner than later but I want whatever position I land to continue my progression where I can get the chance to become another success story.
That is partially the reason I came to Silicon Valley and is why I resolve to stay until I prove I do not contain the talent needed to succeed. Time will tell as to how my quest works out. That is why I subject myself to THIS.

Vietnamese New Year by Tony Green

Tony Celebrating the New
 Year Vietnamese style

Traditionally the Chinese mark the coming of the new year by having massive celebrations and parties. In fact, many countries in the Pacific region celebrate the occasion with the Chinese. One of these countries is Vietnam.

The New Year is known as Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year. It takes place from the first day of the first month of the lunar calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Tết shares many of the identical customs of its Chinese counterpart, having been derived from it.

Two years ago I was employed by a Vietnamese company and management allowed everyone to dress up to celebrate the occasion. The company rented us Vietnamese style costumes to wear for the party. At the time the outfit I wore was red in color and is referred to as “Ao Dai”. Later I learned clothing featuring the color red is worn throughout the Chinese New Year because the Vietnamese believe red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune.

In addition, people typically wear new clothes from head to toe to symbolize a new beginning in the New Year. Wearing up-to-the-minute clothes also symbolizes having more than enough things to use and wear.

Tết is coming, the year of the Tiger is beginning on February 11 and as I approach the Chinese New Year it seems clear after the events of the previous year I could use something to ward away the bad vibe the past year as brought. The time is about a beginning and moving past he old. The red garb might be a good idea to change the karma. In this case the company is footing the bill. How expensive can the garb be? At this time I between positions therefore I perhaps should make mature decisions on how I spend my money. Money, however, is not everything and does not purchase good fortune. In that case should I splurge on this one? I always thought I looked good in red.

Those "A" school electronics by Tony Green

A few weeks ago I had an interview for technical trainer position at a manufacturer of medical equipment used to non-intrusively treat tumors inside the body.

The normal interview consists of a question and answer session with the hiring manager, human resources and other selected staff. For a this sort of interview the interviewees are also interested see how well you can create and organized lesson plan and present information in a lecture atmosphere.

Many companies use training equipment to train the attendees of the classes which are held. There are some occasions the trainers are responsible for maintenance the systems. In this case, the interviewee would want to want to check technical competency of any one they hire. This is in the event the equipment may malfunction and engineer or technician may not be readily available.

I am aware this sounds like a lot requirements for one trainer job. In any case, the interviewer asked me three questions as part of my technical assessment. The function of the following three pieces of electronic equipment: NAND gate, voltage divider and PNP Transistor.

I answered all questions, correctly of the top of head at 8:00 A.M. in the morning of the Monday after the Christmas holidays. Not bad, especially since I had not thought about electronics for at least fifteen years.

I thought to myself later that I did not major in electronics while in college. I learned about the electronics during my time in the Navy 15 years ago at Nuclear Field “A” Electronics School in Orlando, Florida. (Before it closed and the school moved to South Carolina)

My presentation went well so I believed I had a good shot to receive an offer. But no one interviews in a vacuum as one of the gentlemen I they had interviewed had over 10 years in technical training at a week known company for its strong training department and I had none. Therefore, I was not offered the position.

I was disappointed at first but later I felt good about my performance. My friend told me later I ranked second out of the four interviewers and two of the other interviewers were currently technical trainers! I guess I received some pretty quality training while attending in “A” school. I wish I could remember who my instructors were…