It’s just a little scar

For fifty years, I have had a little scar on my forehead that is a reminder of an incident that happened in the woods near my home. I’ve talked before about how much fun it was venturing into the woods with my friends and fellow siblings but that scar is a gentle reminder that not […]

A day to remember … coming soon

The U.S. Navy’s involvement with the submarine dates from 1888 when the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BUC&R) sponsored a design competition that brought John Holland a naval contract to build the experimental Plunger. As the new century dawned, prominent American naval leaders like Admiral George Dewey called the submarine a real threat to international […]

Christ is Risen

In the craziness that surrounds us, it is good that there is a constant… for over 2000 years, Christians around the world have woken on the day designated to remind them of His sacrifice and have been reminded of the ultimate gift of love. He took the sins of the world with him to the […]

Nothing Heroic?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/28/columnist-wants-end-military-funeral-honors-vets-w/ St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan published a column Wednesday, saying the U.S. military should do away with funeral honors, since “most veterans did nothing heroic” anyway. Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/28/columnist-wants-end-military-funeral-honors-vets-w/#ixzz2Owdi2kKW Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter I don’t know what planet this idiot comes from but to suggest that veterans did nothing heroic is one […]

Rise again…

This week, Christians all over the world are celebrating the holiest of all days, a day which is set aside to remember the Resurrection of the Christ. This day reminds us that there is an ultimate victory for those who are part of the faith… the victory of life over death. Like many people, I […]

How well is your path marked?

I remember growing up in a small community in Western Pennsylvania where the suburbs were just blooming surrounded by trees and fields. The sixties were a time of growth for this area and the mills and mines that filled the valleys were running at full tilt to provide the raw materials that make up a […]

5S Boot Camp

In the many lean implementations I have been involved with, establishing a discipline of 5S has always been one of the foundations sought after. The term “5S” of course comes from the Toyota system of lean but for anyone who ever went through boot camp or basic training, it has a number of other descriptions. […]

The Lean Facilitator

The practice of lean involves eliminating waste wherever it is found and solving problems (which typically leads to waste elimination). In all things, we are trying to remove the barriers that keep our teams from being successful. But team building can be a tricky thing in any culture. Most western cultures are deeply rooted in […]

Diving into Lean

What a great week! I spent most of it in Orlando Florida at the Peabody Hotel participating in meetings and discussions around “lean culture” with members of the Lean Enterprise Institute’s Lean Transformation Summit 2013. http://www.lean.org/Events/2013_lean_transformation_summit.cfm The Institute is a non-profit organization made up of people like John Shook and Jim Womack who are certainly […]

A Good Navy Man

The Bluejacket’s Manual of 1946 was a special edition The US Navy (along with its sister services) had just finished a victory of epic proportions and the BJM writers were writing about the needs the country would have from its sailors for years to come. In the introduction, the manual talks about the need for […]