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Book #1 ~NEWS AT FIVE..... Best jobs, going, gone, gone~
Book#2   ~About Ingenious Machines and Methods.
Book #3   ~The 50 Giants on Industry~
Book #4   ~The Castle Builder of Kleatt~
Book #5   ~Box Joints and more for the Shop~

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Left behind the pack?

Feb 2004 "What will ultimately determine the standard of living of this country is the skill
of the people," Alan Greenspan told the senate committee. "We do something
wrong, which obviously people in Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and
Japan do far better. Teaching in these places seems for some
reason to be far better than we can do it."

Ever been pestered by others for being uninformed? Has your image ever suffered while the owner or boss continually gave the praise to your co-workers?

American industries are clamoring lately about the fact that workers are not skilled, motivated, and even qualified. How did many fellow workers capture the knowledge they have which gives them so many ambitious qualities? Much of it is merely in their ability to grasp the techniques, theories, history, and critical principles of manufacturing. Sure, we need more CNC skills, flexibility, motivation and determination. But many people are judged solely upon there experience and knowledge of the industry in general. They know the theory, the history, and the basic principles of industry. Most, but not all talent is the product of experience. It helps to know history, techniques, and theories, famous people and events. Read IMM. Historical evidence is often the thing that can cement our focus, critical thinking and confidence towards action. You don't always need to spend years in technical schools in order to command respect.

"Ingenious Machines and Methods" is filled with droves of obscure and unusual stories, techniques, and methods. In it, mechanical industry has been traced back to its causes, the philosophy, and the science, which made it all possible. You can’t read this anywhere else. Manufacturing is the art of taking a raw material and producing a tradable commodity. Using machines to provide man with the treasures and tools of a civilized society. Basically, the book explains much of the obscure history not captured in academic or even vocational experience.

Concept: It is well known that for companies to compete, they need to acquire skills from consultants. Many times, when they learn the processes of other companies in different industries, they can improve their own operation. Many times, hiring consultants is a difficult choice, and many are located out of town, requiring travel expenses in the thousands of dollars alone. It is not always about hiring consultants though, but about letting everyone in on the hidden details, the fascination, commitment, and satisfaction derived from producing things. Anyone in manufacturing can benefit from this unique book, written by someone with a very clever angle and perspective from over 25 years in industry. Did you ever take a postal exam? Some people, when they decide to take a postal exam will never invest ten minutes into books filled with tips, techniques and details about how to pass an exam. Then they will wonder why they failed. There are dozens of books on how to study for, and pass a postal exam, but the average person thinks that he can go it alone. After getting a bad score, he then decides that the solution is to take the test twice and in the mean time, discovers how everyone else managed to learn.

Concept: Receiving knowledge from history, skilled trades, key employees, “Mechanical Masters” and other industries provides insight from a broad range of companies and operating environments. "Ingenious Machines" and it's information can play a role in transferring “best practices” from one industry to the next. You need advice from those who have had exposure to leading edge operations and have compiled advice valuable to operations. Critical thinking, new ideas and pro-active ideas are what most of the above E-books are about.

Concept: Companies often consult outside experts to coach and mentor their management to ensure that they make production processes successful. Many business owners take risk on who they hire as consultants for very high costs. Many fail to understand the importance of history. Most of the books at Woodjig.com divulge indispensable concepts, techniques, history, people and events, without huge consulting fees.

Hands on information is vital for a wide view, a broad knowledge of manufacturing, which is delivered in "Ingenious Machines and Methods". It offers logic, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning, all of which are useful for industry.

For example, Chapter 11 in my book "Ingenious Machines and Methods" is about licensing. What is a licensing show? No, it is not a middle age trade fair. It is a trade secret to manufacturers. It is where manufacturers around the world go to purchase the rights, or "adopt an idea" created by an outside developer or artist, in order to manufacture their coasters, food trays, books, and hundreds of kinds of goods. It is where artists sell their ideas to industry and have the rights of manufacture signed over to them. It is a show where inventors sell their inventions, only there are artists who sell, (licensed) their work.

A wide assortment of fascinating and very critical manufacturing information is in "Ingenious Machines and Methods." It can be an asset to inspire, motivate, and enhance the Engineer, Mechanic, Manager, and even the "home tinkerer" who loves and respects the machine, which is the hallmark of every successful and ambitious employee.

Knowledge is the fuel for technology....

Download anytime....

A call for effective education: This is an except from Chapter 9
~About Ingenious Machines and Methods.

"Cut your coat according to your cloth".... was a Mid-16th century saying.

The title "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" will be explained at the end of this introduction, but first I need to explain the reason that we need to have clarity as to the reason for this book. My loyalty to higher education has always been for the most part strong, as long as the schooling is relevant to business and science. Many people would disagree, laying the full blame of our economic problems on a self-serving educational system. I only ask that I am understood when I try to explain what I feel is often missing.

Pete Seeger, an American folk singer once said "Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't." Yes, skills are patiently honed by experience, and also, often by mistakes. We who work in the trades often have to go through much training and schooling, and agreed, skilled trades do not suffer some of the formal discipline of a higher education. We of course have not lost any of our common sense, maybe because we are still much closer to "common." I am going to say a few words here, and then explain them shortly. The four words are Ineffective, Irrelevant, Disconnected, Fragmented, and Uninspiring.

Ineffective: The word ineffective can probably speak volumes without any explaining. One possible reason is that our young are often "Mass produced subjects" taught by, manipulated by, and patterned after "mass produced subjects". They are often taught to solve problems by teachers who aren't supposed to express passion, pride, and purpose. Teachers excusably are often too overburdened with administrative problems, personnel problems, bullies, flu, transportation, technology, etc. Maybe teacher assistants "are" a great idea. For one thing, public education only skims over subjects such as economics, trade, taxes, personal property, investing, etc, but that is a subject for another chapter.

Irrelevant: It is a fact that our manufacturing base has tumbled in America. It once was the leading, most powerful, most productive nation in the world. This can also be blamed on the high wages, old technology, or just uninspiring working conditions. Many kids are often given totally irrelevant classes and courses in the schools. Homework does not have to be difficult, or long to be effective, but it should be a discipline in a repetitive, organized fashion.

Somebody once said "as if you could kill time without injuring eternity". Wasting time only shows kids that their success is not of absolute vital importance. When I was going to a trade school once to learn plumbing, a classmate of mine was sent there by his employer, one of the local corporations. He said that he was suppose to go to night school and the courses he could take didn't even have to be relevant to his occupation at work. Basically, he was told that he had to just take some sort of schooling, and he was about to retire anyway in a couple of years. That seems like a good example of a program that was just a means of spending money just for the sake of unsupervised educational reform.

Disconnected: Here we have courses lacking basic problem solving skills. Math and science are not applied enough to actual life experience. Schools should take classes on a tour, to a law firm, a factory, or to a stock brokerage, and they can see first hand why they need addition and subtraction. Do they still take classes on tours to museums, the zoo, and the opera? What do these things have to do with their obtaining survival skills? What is wrong with taking kids in an airplane, or work in a bank one day a week. (Sitting in the bank manager's chair.)

Fragmented: Many classes are not very thorough or just cut short. Students are not challenged to become productive thinkers and problem solvers. For example, many history classes are designed around a list of facts, names, concepts, events, and/or topics. They need to learn how to capitalize on the knowledge of these things.

Uninspiring: Our kids have to be taught to solve problems by people overburdened many times with too many problems. It is not very inspiring. Kids need to meet one on one with successful people. They desperately need positive role models, and to experience success for themselves. Many successful people drive exotic cars and have extravagant homes, not because of vanity, but because they love to send the message that "You can make it in this great country if you try. Kids need to meet these people and feel like they are a part of the pie. They need to read in depth biographies about people, their culture, religious background, and fantastic achievements.

It has been said that Man has a certain mental attitude, whereby he listens to what he wants to here, and he disregards the rest. Teaching needs to involve a method that includes getting the students attention, first and foremost. Many great advertisers throughout history have known this fact when it came to trying to sell manufactured goods. Why can't words be taught in schools such as wisdom, sacrifice, extraordinary, principal, investing, and others? Why don't they publish books that are easy, and stimulating, like "Physics for all of us dummies" or "Math that is interesting for Dummies." Just an observation....

Galileo was not just an astronomer....
Galileo (1564 -1642) was trendsetter. He thought "outside the box."

About the E-book: How did manufacturing start in Europe and why? Manufacturing was a way
of providing traders with goods to transport all across Europe. Rome had one of the first large malls. They built water wheels, wagon's, bridges, and aqueducts. Their technology, teaching, and knowledge was second to none. But for hundreds of centuries, it was lost. From 470A.D. until around the 14th Century (almost 1,000 years), most of Western Europe was subject to starvation, decline, and the forces of nature. During much of the time, Fairs were the only gathering places for merchants to sell products all throughout the middle ages. Most cities were in a constant cycle of ruin and recovery. Read more..... George's new book.

__________________

From the book.....

~NEWS AT FIVE..... Best jobs, going, gone~

Written by

It is obvious to all that the demands for jobs and productivity from the public are putting enormous pressure on the stability and humanity that North America and Europe is known for. For starters what Western countries need is an even playing field in the international financial exchange markets. Then we need patents, engineers, artist, entrepreneurs, movers, and shakers. We also need manufacturing to continue being more productive through automation, participation, trust and sacrifice. Labor alone cannot achieve productivity and prosperity without the guidance of good talent, experience and hopefully a knowledgeable and skillful business mind. It is not prosperity for the system to reward anyone who works their hardest at acting appropriate. Workers and management need to know one basic fact. That fact is that in our time, we may never level the playing field, things will take time, and our only solution is to stop trying to gain personnel satisfaction, pride and influence, and go to work creating more jobs.

Henry Ford previous to 1927 wanted to remain simple and utilitarian. He was proud of his Model T Ford because it was so versatile. It was a rugged, simple car that could even be converted into a mini sawmill! He wasn't prepared when other car companies started offering a variety of models, and colors. He only offered one model until around 1928. Then, in order to compete with GM and others, he started by retiring the Model T and making the Model A, (in different colors). The only problem was that the Depression hit and Ford didn't quite recover until he started a government plane contract for WWII.

Silence is often appropriate in the chain of command. Often, when companies are going through hard times, silence becomes even more appropriate and proper.   Companies are often hurt by rumors, whining and scoffing. Personally, I could open up to you many negative things that companies have done to employees, suppliers, and vendors, but maybe these things are better off left alone, when employees jobs are hanging in the balance.  The fact is, only jobs will keep a country safe, and at peace.

From the book.....
~NEWS AT FIVE..... Best jobs, going gone~

I once worked at a company that laid off half it's workforce when they lost a large customer. Then, and only then the company asked the employees to "invent some things, offer some ideas, be creative."   This present time is not one to be silent among decision makers.   They need suggestions, openness, ideas, and most of all, time.   One place to learn more about the crises, problems and issues in manufacturing is the National Tool and Machine Organization. Sign up for their newsletter.

Our country is now in a knowledge slump, and there are many who speculate why that is.   Some say it is a result of welfare, some say teachers, and some even say it is Hollywood, principals and values. We now have talk shows on television where the host asks people history and economic questions. For example Jay Leno has a very interesting skit called "Jaywalking" where he asks people on the street various questions about history and the economy. Another radio show has a version called "Moron trivia".   Yet another is called "Street Smarts". Communication and knowledge is vital for progress. You hear this everywhere, but we live in a society that becomes frustrated with learning, and some often surrender their quest for knowledge. Some people, as you may have noticed on some of these trivia shows have given up trying to learn. They visibly have suspended their search, or in many cases never pursued answers for anything significant to the past, or future. They are living for the day, in the present, and many who sound like they are very often out of touch. Many critics, chuckling, will say that our teaching institutions are only transferring what they know. Many will say that all of our vital communication is either to difficult, filled with doublespeak, or has no practical purpose or connection to life's struggle.

Most people who want to learn probably become frustrated and assume others can interpret all of the illegible and unclear and scholarly gibberish and information. I will admit, I have read Greek, Roman, Old English vernacular and even some poetry. I still cannot interpret most political, economic and scientific doublespeak. A large portion of our knowledge therefore needs to be interpreted in order for students to grasp it's intent and it's meaning. So, these people interviewed can't be all so ignorant. They obviously put little value on information that does not apply to their immediate advantage. This is apparently very interesting, and scary to many people who watch these shows. I am sure it is also very enlightening for foreign viewers and listeners to see these ridiculous trivia programs. Some must think that America is a very, very backward society.

As you may know, this book is about tariffs, trade, and manufacturing, and may be from a totally different viewpoint than you may have ever read. It may at times sound like vigilante, desperate, shameless, patriotism to some. It is not. It is merely exercising the real tools of industry... free speech.   Industry and progress are a product of free speech and autonomy.   This isn't just capitalist squawk.   Before the concept of the patent came into use, innovative discoveries were guarded in order to profit individually. Ideas usually died with the innovator, which is a direct indication that individual profit inspires the motivation to create.

This was an excerpt from the book.....

~NEWS AT FIVE..... Best jobs, going, gone, gone~

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