Overso i took a job as an adjunct teacher at a local tech school. i put in a full day of work that starts at 630m and ends promptly at 3pm so that i can hustle home, get cleaned up and head up to school for a class that goes from 530pm to 1030. So far I've been able to do this 4 nights a week, monday-thursday for two weeks now.
The funny thing is, that despite the rush, and the long hours, my time in the class from 5:30-10:30 is sublime. I really feel like I'm in the right place when I'm with my class.
I really like these guys. They're pretty rough around the edges, but in two weeks we've brazed pipe, soldered, learned about how to operate a vacuum pump & a refrigerant recovery machine. Thursday night, we finished early so we fixed the school's demo walk-in box.
I've also learned a few things about myself. I always thought of myself as a good teacher- but you never know until you see the results of what your students are learning.
finally, this has been a real eye opener for me in understanding just how much I know or don't know about my trade. I have my master's licence in maryland, so by legal definition, I am a master of this- but field work and having to answer classroom questions is making me have to atep up to a whole new lewvel of knowledge and understanding.
Overall, it has been a very stressful but rewarding process, I just hope that I can keep up the pace for another couple weeks, and I'll reserve a final decision about whether to continue for a later date.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I'm think about a new tat
most of us in genx would like to be both the ceo of a major corporation during the week, and have a part-time job serving as the tatooed circus geek in the summer, when we're not digging wells in tanzania. the reality is that most of us just settle for the occasional inking.
at any rate i'm thinking about getting a new tat.
I think a set of gauges on my right shoulder would be a pretty good piece, i just gotta get the $ together for it. Now that I have the teaching gig, maybe I can justify the cost. I talked to a local artist and what i want is probably a 4-5 hour session.
I've thought about other things- jedi symbols, mandalorian war insignias- but i think the gauges (reading a perfect setup for an ac system would be the best)
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.2Copyright © 2007 by John W. Tindale. All rights reserved. You may reprint any or all of the information contained herein as long as you give credit where it is due. Please quote or copy as often as you like- just tell them where you got it.
at any rate i'm thinking about getting a new tat.
I think a set of gauges on my right shoulder would be a pretty good piece, i just gotta get the $ together for it. Now that I have the teaching gig, maybe I can justify the cost. I talked to a local artist and what i want is probably a 4-5 hour session.
I've thought about other things- jedi symbols, mandalorian war insignias- but i think the gauges (reading a perfect setup for an ac system would be the best)
Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.2Copyright © 2007 by John W. Tindale. All rights reserved. You may reprint any or all of the information contained herein as long as you give credit where it is due. Please quote or copy as often as you like- just tell them where you got it.
Saturday, August 07, 2010
Zigbee and stuff
Many of you know that I got excited about a wireless protocol for controls and monitoring and have been trying to bring some of the products that use Zigbee to market for some time now.
So far, from what we've experienced, its been an uphill battle. We bought some development kits from a couple of the zigbee radio manufacturers, and it has been tough to get a working prototype together. One of the obstacles has been that we can't get a consistent setup.
I have a prototype that uses standard 802.11 networking to connect an embedded device to a customer's network- but so far no zigbee.
I also have several zigbee vendors who have allowed us to rep their products- but so far it's been difficult to find any takers. The barriers I have seen are:
1. Python programming with eclipse is still very sluggish and difficult to follow. I'm no slouch when it comes to programming controllers, and setting up networks- but having to use telnet to upload text-based routing tables? sheesh!
2. "out of the box" zigbee products are still very expensive. One of the reasons zigbee is supposed to be an alternative to wired solutions is supposed to be the price. Some of the thermostats we rep cost ME $7-800 dollars. Why buy an $800 wireless thermostat when I can sell a wired one for less than $100?
3. The customer doesn't get the concept of "data acquisition." I am finding that it is just too much of a learning curve to teach people that getting data is important before making changes or adjustments to their mechanical systems. They want a cheap, easy solution now- and are not interested in real-time monitoring.
I've got to admit I'm a little stalled right now with what to do as a next step. So here's what I'm thinking.
1. get back to making money in HVAC. I'm an HVAC guy, I'm good at it and I need money right now. So this is a no-brainer. I'm going to work for a local HVAC contractor, and I'm going to start teaching as an adjunct at a local tech school.
2. keep plugging along with the python programming. Sean and I have got to get a zigbee network of devices working and gathering data. Whatever the hurdle, whatever the frustration, one of these times running through the tutorial is going to work.
3. cobble together a demo that I can carry around made up of the "out of the box" products. I've got my hands on some cool stuff- I just need to get some capital together to pay for it. We can actually make money setting this thing up as a sophisticated data logging kit. nothing fancy- just 10 monitoring points hooked up to a gateway device.
I'm meeting with a couple of my vendors next week to talk about pricing and configuration, so I'll let you know how it goes. I still believe that the future of HVAC and facilties maintenance is in wireless- I just haven't figured out how to sell it yet.
So far, from what we've experienced, its been an uphill battle. We bought some development kits from a couple of the zigbee radio manufacturers, and it has been tough to get a working prototype together. One of the obstacles has been that we can't get a consistent setup.
I have a prototype that uses standard 802.11 networking to connect an embedded device to a customer's network- but so far no zigbee.
I also have several zigbee vendors who have allowed us to rep their products- but so far it's been difficult to find any takers. The barriers I have seen are:
1. Python programming with eclipse is still very sluggish and difficult to follow. I'm no slouch when it comes to programming controllers, and setting up networks- but having to use telnet to upload text-based routing tables? sheesh!
2. "out of the box" zigbee products are still very expensive. One of the reasons zigbee is supposed to be an alternative to wired solutions is supposed to be the price. Some of the thermostats we rep cost ME $7-800 dollars. Why buy an $800 wireless thermostat when I can sell a wired one for less than $100?
3. The customer doesn't get the concept of "data acquisition." I am finding that it is just too much of a learning curve to teach people that getting data is important before making changes or adjustments to their mechanical systems. They want a cheap, easy solution now- and are not interested in real-time monitoring.
I've got to admit I'm a little stalled right now with what to do as a next step. So here's what I'm thinking.
1. get back to making money in HVAC. I'm an HVAC guy, I'm good at it and I need money right now. So this is a no-brainer. I'm going to work for a local HVAC contractor, and I'm going to start teaching as an adjunct at a local tech school.
2. keep plugging along with the python programming. Sean and I have got to get a zigbee network of devices working and gathering data. Whatever the hurdle, whatever the frustration, one of these times running through the tutorial is going to work.
3. cobble together a demo that I can carry around made up of the "out of the box" products. I've got my hands on some cool stuff- I just need to get some capital together to pay for it. We can actually make money setting this thing up as a sophisticated data logging kit. nothing fancy- just 10 monitoring points hooked up to a gateway device.
I'm meeting with a couple of my vendors next week to talk about pricing and configuration, so I'll let you know how it goes. I still believe that the future of HVAC and facilties maintenance is in wireless- I just haven't figured out how to sell it yet.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Promise Street
If you've been following this blog, I'm sure you're aware of my efforts over the last two years to go from a nice desk job making a comfortable little salary to not really knowing from where the money is coming.
We've tried pitching venture capitalists, we've gone to the banks, we've tried self-financing and we've hit some pretty rough patches there wondering how we were going to make it.
In addition to the fact that we're in a tough place with the economy- and this has a real impact on how much money commercial property owners and managers can spend on the type of products we're trying to bring to market. I just found out yesterday that some of the biggest contractors in our area have gone from 30-40 service trucks down to less than half their size. We're not just talking about small mom-and-pop operations either.
We've also had some hiccups with broken promises and hand-shake alliances with people who promised to either hire us on, send work our way, or help finance our projects. I've been in more merger/acquisition/planning/sales meetings than I care to mention. It's not that I haven't been trying.
I have been "hired" by three different companies in the last two years that never materialized. I've had people stand in front of me and tell me that they were going to give me more work than I can handle. I've had more requests for proposals than you would imagine. I've done more free consulting than you'd imagine. Someone's going to buy a building and they want me to make it "green." Someone else bought a heating and air conditioning company and they want me to run it. Someone else has a pile of shopping centers and they want me to start doing "all of the maintenance." Just this one last piece, just this one last task, just one more free service- and I was going to hit the big time. The jackpot. The Big Enchilada.
Years ago, a very good friend of mine told me about a concept he called "Promise Street." Promise Street is an imaginary place where someone takes you when they are trying to lead you in a financial arrangement where if you help them out now (give them price breaks, provide a short-term loan, help them out financially) they will in turn reciprocate at some point in the future and return the favor.
It happens to contractors all the time. A General Contractor will ask a subcontractor for a special price on a job "just on this one" and says they will pay full price "on the next one." Or Harry Homeowner will tell you that they'll sign the service contract next time if you'll just stop the leak right now. A banker will tell you to use their credit card with the promise of letting you take out a line of credit later...
Promise Street. It is an imaginary location where you will finally get to the Tuesday when J. Wellington Wimpy will pay you for all those hamburgers. It's "the next job" where your customer will gladly pay full price. It's that promotion you get after helping the boss with "just one more project deadline." It's that vacation you're going to get "right after we finish this one last product pitch." Promise Street is the magical place where you get that loan you've been promised, or that final payment for the work you did as a consultant. That place where the GSA administrator isn't asking you to cut your rate just this one last time (yes, contrary to popular opinion government purchasing agents do haggle.)
Years ago, I did some contracting work for a small property management company in Northern Virginia. I had a partner named Gary who would always point out when we were being led down promise street by a vendor, customer, or financial institution. Years later, my buddy Richard would help me add a bank "They don't cash checks on promise street" our next job "it must be down there on promise street" and a storage place "they must have left it down there on promise street."
So, the next time you have someone promising to "hook you up" after you do just one little thing- remember that the check is in the mail, the loan is in processing, and that dream house you always wanted is right around the corner, just over the next hill, around the bend- right there on Promise Street.
We've tried pitching venture capitalists, we've gone to the banks, we've tried self-financing and we've hit some pretty rough patches there wondering how we were going to make it.
In addition to the fact that we're in a tough place with the economy- and this has a real impact on how much money commercial property owners and managers can spend on the type of products we're trying to bring to market. I just found out yesterday that some of the biggest contractors in our area have gone from 30-40 service trucks down to less than half their size. We're not just talking about small mom-and-pop operations either.
We've also had some hiccups with broken promises and hand-shake alliances with people who promised to either hire us on, send work our way, or help finance our projects. I've been in more merger/acquisition/planning/sales meetings than I care to mention. It's not that I haven't been trying.
I have been "hired" by three different companies in the last two years that never materialized. I've had people stand in front of me and tell me that they were going to give me more work than I can handle. I've had more requests for proposals than you would imagine. I've done more free consulting than you'd imagine. Someone's going to buy a building and they want me to make it "green." Someone else bought a heating and air conditioning company and they want me to run it. Someone else has a pile of shopping centers and they want me to start doing "all of the maintenance." Just this one last piece, just this one last task, just one more free service- and I was going to hit the big time. The jackpot. The Big Enchilada.
Years ago, a very good friend of mine told me about a concept he called "Promise Street." Promise Street is an imaginary place where someone takes you when they are trying to lead you in a financial arrangement where if you help them out now (give them price breaks, provide a short-term loan, help them out financially) they will in turn reciprocate at some point in the future and return the favor.
It happens to contractors all the time. A General Contractor will ask a subcontractor for a special price on a job "just on this one" and says they will pay full price "on the next one." Or Harry Homeowner will tell you that they'll sign the service contract next time if you'll just stop the leak right now. A banker will tell you to use their credit card with the promise of letting you take out a line of credit later...
Promise Street. It is an imaginary location where you will finally get to the Tuesday when J. Wellington Wimpy will pay you for all those hamburgers. It's "the next job" where your customer will gladly pay full price. It's that promotion you get after helping the boss with "just one more project deadline." It's that vacation you're going to get "right after we finish this one last product pitch." Promise Street is the magical place where you get that loan you've been promised, or that final payment for the work you did as a consultant. That place where the GSA administrator isn't asking you to cut your rate just this one last time (yes, contrary to popular opinion government purchasing agents do haggle.)
Years ago, I did some contracting work for a small property management company in Northern Virginia. I had a partner named Gary who would always point out when we were being led down promise street by a vendor, customer, or financial institution. Years later, my buddy Richard would help me add a bank "They don't cash checks on promise street" our next job "it must be down there on promise street" and a storage place "they must have left it down there on promise street."
So, the next time you have someone promising to "hook you up" after you do just one little thing- remember that the check is in the mail, the loan is in processing, and that dream house you always wanted is right around the corner, just over the next hill, around the bend- right there on Promise Street.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)