The Westclox Story

Recently visited Peru IL and the Westclox museum. This visit brought home how American manufacturers failed to compete in the later 20th century with foreign corporations.

As with so many companies, Westclox began with an idea, a new idea about clock making. It was a story of courage and innovation. In it's heyday, Westclox was the largest manufacturer of clocks in the world with the LaSalle-Peru plant covering more than 20 acres with 2,800 employees.

I think what impressed me most was the advanced level of quality control employed in the early century. Cutting edge to be sure. As you can imagine, clock making is an exacting process.

I highly recommend a visit. There are thousands of clocks, watches and all sorts of time related products on display. There are even bomb fuses which Westclox manufactured during the war years.

Visit the website here:
Westclox Museum

Thank You Senator McCain

Many moons ago I was privileged to attend a video conference for business leaders which included panel discussions with such noted business leaders as Ted Turner, Steve Case and Tom Peters. I was especially impressed with Mr. Peters. He told a story about a manager who constantly berated and treated employees poorly and how those employees would "put up" with the treatment BUT will always extract revenge "on the loading dock at 3 AM when management is not around".

Well, it is possible we just witnessed this phenomenon with the 1:30 AM vote in the Senate for the "skinny" repeal of the ACA (Affordable Care Act - I dislike the term "Obamacare"). If you remember, during the presidential campaign of 2016, one of the Republican candidates famously said that Senator John McCain was not a "hero" (he was wrong by the way), that being captured by the enemy did not make one a hero.

Senator McCain voted against the "skinny" repeal bill effectively putting the health care debate to rest. I do not believe Senator McCain would extract revenge because he is a true American Hero. In voting his heart, he displayed the bravery required of American Heroes and for that I thank him. His colleagues in Congress should take notice and emulate him.

Link to NYT story:

Senate Rejects Slimmed-Down Obamacare Repeal as McCain Votes No

THE DEVIL HAD A GOOD NIGHT IN ORLANDO

Incredibly there has been another mass shooting in the U.S. I am at a loss to understand. I am sad for the families. Despite the left-leaning liberal calls for more gun control and despite the arguments from the right-leaning NRA and it's proponents, we now have a new benchmark. I was hoping Sandy Hook would hold the record for at least a few decades. Of course, Virginia Tech was worst in terms of body count, but I could not imagine a more despicable deed than what happened at Sandy Hook. Mark my words, there will be more outcries and more debate over whether more guns or fewer guns, more rhetoric, more opinion pieces on more guns or less guns. And nothing will change. Nothing will change until we human beings start being better human beings. Nothing will change until we begin to treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated. Nothing will change until we stop hating others. We do not yet know what the motivations of the Orlando shooter were. There have been some reports that he saw two men kissing in public, found it to be disgusting and possibly was inspired to kill. Whatever the motivation, we can bet hatred was involved. Our politicians cannot legislate love. Our religious leaders try to convince us to love one another. Our parents (the good ones) show us love and most of us (the good ones?) reciprocate. Yet somehow a culture of hate still exists for many. Need to be convinced that there is a culture of hate in the U.S.? Here is a top 12:

www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/heres-what-we-know-about-americas-worst-mass-shootings

Be good humans.

Star Wars

Wow, memories. Too bad "See Threepio" didn't stick.
Posted by William Smith on Sunday, December 20, 2015

Tomorrowland? Not happening.

What a disappointment. It missed every opportunity to inspire. #MovieReview

We live in an amazing world!

I am constantly amazed by this world in which we live. Many times in a good way...

I downloaded the Periscope app from Twitter recently. So far I have seen a sunset in North Carolina, a gentleman riding the subway home to Queens,NY, and a lady waiting for her plane in a CT airport.

I am sure the novelty will wear off soon, but think about it. I am reminded of the movie "The Fifth Element" wherein Chris Tucker's character is live broadcasting his trip on a luxury space ship. Soon we can all become our own personal broadcaster. Audience size may vary. Idea: Who will develop the first tracking and rating app (similar to the Nielson TV rating service)?

I cannot help but wonder when the lawsuits begin by individuals who did not give permission to be broadcast over the Internet. Just a random thought. 

I believe app's such as Periscope will disrupt broadcasting just as blogging and e-books disrupted print journalism. 

Follow me on Twitter @wsmith8180 and when the situation warrants, I will become one such broadcaster and you can be part of this amazing world. 

- William Smith

- St. Charles, IL

- via iPad and Blogger app

Amazing. 

STILL HERE

Quick note to let you know I will be back blogging soon. Stay tuned.