January 23, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (6)

I like technology as much as the next guy, but there are some things I draw the line at—which, funny enough, is what my cartoonist always tells Modern’s editor when they’re hashing out my next “adventure” in the magazine. Believe it or not, I actually read the rest of the magazine after checking out the latest “Imperfectly Frank” episode. In the January issue, John Usher’s Advisory Board column caught my eye.

In it, he talks about the day when everyone'll  be making their own stuff in their own homes, using a direct digit...Read More

January 5, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

Did you know this is Armageddon Week on the History Channel? Every night there’s going to be a program on how close we are to the end of the world. They kicked the week off yesterday with a marathon of shows on “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Greed and Pride were highlighted as the basis for our current business woes. Then they had a special on Nostradamus and his prediction that the world as we know it would end in December of 2012. What a great way to cap off the holiday season!

Well, December 2008 wasn’t too jolly for the manufacturing sector. All industries posted declines in manufacturing activity, according to the latest Report on Business from the Institute for Supply Management. That marks the fifth consecutive month in ...Read More

December 15, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

My mom used to say "Good things come to those who wait." I take after my mom. She wasn’t too smart either.

I HATE waiting. That two minutes it takes my toaster to burn my Pop Tarts in the morning is downright painful. Not to mention how painful it is to eat a charred, molten Pop Tart.

My boss hates to wait too. He waited almost five months to get a building permit for our new racking system. You shoulda seen him by the end of week seven. He was screamin’ and cussin’ up a storm. No, wait, that was the week I drove our lift truck off the dock. It was week eight by the time the permit process started getting under his hide.

December 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Hey, I sat in on Modern’s Lift Truck Customer Satisfaction webcast. The discussion focused on stuff I can relate to. Dumb stuff, like companies cheaping-out on lift truck operator training and why operators don’t wear their restraints. I just saw another report that said workers are pretty dumb about safety in general, not just around lift trucks.

Kimberly-Clark Professional did a survey at the 2008 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress and 89 perce...Read More

November 18, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Do you like music like I do? Then you probably wear headphones a lot. I don’t jog to music, I tend to waddle rhythmically. I wear headphones so much that sometimes I forget they’re on my head and my life takes on a musical soundtrack of its own.

It’s become a vice. And like all vices, some do-gooder had to come along and pour cold water on my pleasure. That ain’t comfortable. Other than hating that soggy feeling, guilt and fear creep in. What’s there to be afraid about listening to headphones all day?

Nothin’. Unless you have a pace-maker keepin’ you goin’. Some ...Read More