CATCHING UP

WOW!!
I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post!
I guess that says a lot about how busy things have been...or about how disorganized I am. I don't really have time to post this one either....but it's a good distraction from the other stuff I should be doing right now.

Well....Thanksgiving was a nice break (at least most of it was). From Thursday morning until Sunday morning I didn't do anything at all related to school! Of course, I'm paying for that now. But that's ok.....my family can't be at the bottom of my priorities list all the time! Holidays can be a good time to say "I don't care what happens Monday, I'm playing with my kid today."

By the way, if anyone is thinking about doing some holiday outlet mall shopping in Branson (like we did last Saturday), I have a suggestion: pretend you're going camping and bring enough food with you to last through the day...and get there early!!
Branson is a little town of (my estimate) less than 10,000 people, and that is pretty much what their streets are designed to handle. But my guess is that about 100,000 people visit Branson every day. And being patriotic Americans, they all bring their cars. The outlet malls don't really have any restaurants, and you'll spend more time driving from parking lot to parking lot than you will shopping. I don't consider any of this to be an exaggeration.

Not only that......but restaurants in Branson suck! The food is bland at best, and so is the service.

Well I thought I could at least finish this blog before I got called home, but guess what........

I'll try to post something else relatively soon.

RFID lab tour today

About an hour from now, I'm going on a tour of the University's RFID lab.

RFID is Radio Frequency IDentification and it stands to be the biggest logistics/inventory innovation since the bar code.

I don't exactly know how it works, but that's ok...I'm not an engineer.

What happens with a bar code (example):
- bar code is scanned when an item is delivered to a store (everyone knows the store has it)
- bar code is scanned when an item is purchased (everyone knows that someone bought it)

What I think happens with RFID (example):
- the item's RFID tag emits a unique radiofrequency signal
- the store's RFID receivers can tell if it's on a shelf, which shelf it's on, how long it's been there, where it goes after someone picks it up (shopper traffic patterns), etc.

Many trucking companies, consumer products companies, and retailers (Wal-Mart) are very interested in developing this technology. With Wal-Mart, Tyson, and so many trucking companies headquartered within 30 minutes of here, it should come as no surprise that the U. of Arkansas is at the forefront of RFID research and development. But it does surprise some people.

So me and some of the other supply chain MBAs are going to check it out.

Things To Do......

I've been feeling pressurized lately with the piling up of all the stuff I need to do.
I used to say that every day I had to choose which class I would neglect.

But yesterday I noticed that I'm behind in EVERY class....I'm behind in my graduate assistantship work....and I don't feel like I've been taking care of my family very well either.
So where is all my time going? (obviously not to this blog, and definitely not to oversleeping!)
I have a strong suspicion it has a lot to do with my poor organization skills.
So last night I made a weekend To Do list, and I thought it would be the perfect subject for a blog post!

Things To Do This Weekend:
1. Make some major progress on data collection (my research assistant work)
2. Develope version B of exam 2 for TLOG 3613 (my teaching assistant work)
3. Read the Mobil case (Accounting class), answer the questions, attend group meeting
4. Read the Shell case (Log. Modeling class), try to answer something, attend group meeting
5. Read at least 2 articles for Transportation Strategies class (catch-up)
6. Read chapters 7 and 9 for Mgt. Accounting class (catch-up)
7. Figure out what I might want to put in my leadership philosophy memo (Management class)
8. Research at least 2 corporate HR plans (Management class)
9. BABY-PROOF THE KITCHEN CABINETS!!!
10. Start writing 1 Letter of Intent for PhD applications
11. At least look at my research paper coming due next month
12. Study at least 2 pages of calculus (I'm trying to teach myself calculus)
13. Visit my parents for at least 1 hour on Sunday afternoon
14. Post something on this blog
15. Read 1 Bible verse every day
16. Play with my daughter for at least 15 minutes (at one time) every day
17. AT LEAST ONCE A DAY, kiss my wife and say "I love you"

The last 3 are more of reminders than actual tasks.
And just because I posted this (#14) don't assume the previous 13 things have been completed!

WAY COOL CLASS NEXT SEMESTER!!

Really quick before I go to bed....
We saw a presentation after class today....VERY INTERESTING!

There will be a new course offered next semester, put together by the Technology Licensing Office. http://www.uark.edu/ua/tlo/

See, the Univ.of Arkansas has quite a lot of intellectual property sitting around--advancements in IT, biotech, nanotech, agritech, etc. The goal of this course will be pick out some of these technologies (antimicrobial somethingorothers, ferroelectric whachamicallits, quantum dot doohickies,...) evaluate them for market potential, and make presentations to potential licensees.

WAY COOL INDEED!!

uh oh. The wife just woke up....gotta go.

Back from Denver, part 2

The CSCMP conference was really great! Thanks a lot to Dr. Ozment for getting me in!

One of his favorite statistics is that there are over 450 accredited business schools in the U.S. and you can major in Logistics, or Transportation, or Supply Chain, etc., at about 50.
So....
The logistics education community is really small (compared to marketing or finance). From what I saw in Denver, the vast majority of these people are down-to-earth and easy-going. It really feels like an extended family.

Whenever it was mentioned that I was a prospective PhD student, the response was usually something like "Oh, well come over here and let me introduce you to Dr......with......University." It was a really great opportunity to meet a lot of the top people in the field.

Of course, it was a big help that I was usually with Dr. Ozment. This guy knows EVERYBODY! Everywhere I went, I'd drop his name and people would say "Oh, you're one of John's students...". He's not really a founding father of the discipline, but I think he's a founding son.

I also got to meet Dr. Waller, who flew in from China to attend the conference. Matt Waller is an absolute star in supply chain education. The Walton College has started an MBA program in Shanghai, China, and Dr. Waller has been over there for the last year heading up that program.

Well, class is about to start....gotta go.

Back from Denver, part 1

ok...I actually got back from Denver a week ago, but this is the first chance I've had to blog at a time when I was thinking about it. In case you were wondering....yes, Denver is awesome!

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, across the street from the convention center, on the 10th floor with a magnificent view of the mountains. We chose the Hilton instead of the Hyatt Regency because it came with free WiFi in the room, and the building is only about 1 year old (major selling point for the wife).

We were only 2 blocks from the 16th Street pedestrian mall. This place is really nice! For several blocks 16th Street is closed to vehicle traffic, except for the free buses (hybrid/alternative fuel-powered, of course) that only travel up and down 16th St. The street is bricked and has trees, benches, and kiosks in the middle.

If you're ever there make sure to stop in Cook's Fresh Market. They've got a deli and a bakery, and they make the absolute best cookies (1 inch thick I swear!). Katie had to go there every day and get a walnut shortbread cookie. She bought 12 for the trip home (gone within 3 days).

Another interesting thing about 16th Street:
Every other street corner had some bleeding-heart college kid in an Obama t-shirt with a clipboard trying to get me registered to vote, or some dirty hippie college kid in a Greenpeace t-shirt with a clipboard trying to talk to me about global climate change. EVERY DAY!

Politics not withstanding, we had a wonderful time and Denver is one of our favorite cities!

Let's Get Started!

Wow!



I thought I would've posted something way before now!

Here comes another crazy week.



I've got an Accounting test on Wednesday. We're also moving to a new apartment on Wednesday....nope, still haven't packed.

So that means out of class at 1pm, meet the Water Dept. at the new place between 2-3pm, meet the movers at the old place between 3-5pm (I'll gladly pay someone else to move that sofa and bed out of my 3rd floor apartment!). So I guess that means I get to start moving all our crap after 5pm. sweet!

Anyway, it's a really nice place: 2 bed, 2 1/2 bath, 2-story townhouse, mahogany floors, never-been-lived-in-before new, just down the hill from the mall. It's a condominium complex that got caught by the housing bust....bad luck for them, good luck for me!



Sometime this week I need to take my wife shopping (yes, I said that) for some nice clothes to wear to Denver. Oh yeah, we're going to Denver this weekend! (that's NOT a bad thing!)

I'm going to the CSCMP conference (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) and I think that rocks! A weekend of schmoozing and resume dropping in one of the greatest cities in the country!



This will be Lily's first airplane ride. Thank God it's only 2 hours!! 2 hour non-stop to Denver...not bad!



Well, I gotta go...better get to studying!