WHY 3D printing will fail

Techno Thrills

How will 3D printing affect the supply chain? We know that 3D printing will disrupt manufacturing and the international supply chain, but nobody seems to know how yet. Now a paper from the Business School at Lingman Normal University in Zhanjiang has tried to separate the wood from the trees. The general consensus is that 3D printing is going to have a profound effect. The concept of mass producing goods half way around the world and then shipping them is inherently inefficient. UPS clearly agrees, as it is investing heavily in 3D printing centers throughout the US that can produce goods on demand for local delivery. So even the big players are panicking, but what will actually happen? There are theories that much of the labor market could actually be wiped out and logistics will become a casualty of the digital era. This doesn’t take into account our natural capacity to adapt, though, and the fact that we have been here before. This isn’t the first rodeo When Asia effectively took over mass production, Europe and the US concentrated on complex products. These goods were often assembled with parts taken from the factories that sprang up in China. Those that didn’t adapt, simply died. The ones that did were often more successful than ever. Now we face a new industrial revolution that brings its own unique problems. We know that there will be upheaval, but still nobody quite knows how this will pan out. The concept of mass producing goods half way around the world and then shipping them is inherently inefficient. UPS clearly agrees, as it is investing heavily in 3D printing centers throughout the US that can produce goods on demand for local delivery. We really don’t know if 3D printing will take over mass manufacturing, or if the benefits of the old system will keep it in the game for a long time to come. Does 3D printing have a limit? Printing speed, cost and the quality of the finished product are all improving at a rate that suggests this is the future. But we may yet find a cut-off point where it is simply not cost-effective to use the printers for a certain product. Well the Chinese researchers have attempted to analyse the situation using system dynamics to offer a rational answer. It posed a number of possibilities and came to the inevitable conclusion: 3D printing is set to change the manufacturing world and the supply chain. [Continue ...] Let me tell you why this is wrong.  I've been to 3-D movies. I have a 3-D capable television.  As a kid I even had 3-D comic books. After watching/reading for just a few minutes my eyes get blurry, and I get a headache, and I am not alone.  Twenty-minutes onto "HOUSE OF WAX," fully half  the audience left the Montclare Theater in some level of distress. So this 3-D printer stuff, while techno exotic, is doomed to go the way of other gadgets that flopped big time. Don't invest. You're welcome.

Is Trump just another Fascist?

Is Trump just another Fascist? An adult, and scholarly answer from John Ray I have commented on this accusation before but the article below originates from the NYT so I probably should offer a few more comments. Trump retweeted a Mussolini quote: “It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.” Asked by Chuck Todd on the NBC program “Meet the Press” about the retweet, Trump brushed off the quote’s origin. “I know who said it,” he said. “But what difference does it make whether it’s Mussolini or somebody else?” “Do you want to be associated with a fascist?” Todd asked. “No,” Trump answered, “I want to be associated with interesting quotes.” For a start, Trump is if anything philo-semitic rathrer than antisemitic.  That's not strictly relevant as Mussolini was not antisemitic either -- until Hitler pushed him into it.  But in the popular mind Fascism and antisemitism are strongly associated.  When Donald opened his club in Palm Beach called Mar-a-Lago, he insisted on accepting Jews and blacks even though other clubs in Palm Beach to this day discriminate against blacks and Jews.  And his recent speech at AIPAC was warmly pro-Israel. But picking at little bits that Trump has said here and there miss the main game entirely.  Fascism was LEFTIST and Trump sure is not that.  There has NEVER been a Fascist type regime emanating from  conservatives.  Some past conservative regimes have in fact been remarkably libertarian -- the 19th century's Lord Salisbury, for instance And the various Latin American dictators of C20 were Bolivarists, not conservatives. And Bolivar had little time for democracy.  The keenest modern-day Bolivarists rule Venezuela. Enough said about that, I think. You would have to go back to Oliver Cromwell to find a dictator with any sort of conservative identity and Cromwell was not much of a dictator.  He was invited to his role by his fellow Puritan leaders, who saw the need for strong leadership in turbulent times. Cromwell was certainly hard on his Irish opponents but they largely brought that down on their own heads.  There was no Geneva convention at that time. Leftists moan about Pinochet but he rose to power in response to a desperate plea from the Chilean parliament after a Marxist president had burnt the electoral rolls.  That Pinochet  subsequently used Leftist methods to round up Leftist opponents of his rule was simply a case of him giving the Left a long overdue taste of their own vicious medicine.  And Pinochet was not in fact conservative.  He was originally appointed to the army leadership precisely because he was seen as non-political.  He was just a General doing a job to which he had been invited.  And he retired from that job voluntarily. Outside of Africa, ALL the vicious regimes of C20 were Leftist -- whether Communists or Fascists.  So the fact that  Trump is not a Leftist GUARANTEES that he is not a Fascist [John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.] Nothing to add here boss.

Man Steals Clock

"Man Steals Clock, Faces Time"

Day of the Vandals

Liberal Culture

HENDERSON, KY  - Crosses that honor deceased Henderson County veterans were damaged by a man who drove through the display. Henderson police say Anthony Burrus vandalized 160 crosses at Henderson's Central Park. Burrus says he doesn't remember anything from that day, but he said he knows he got into a fight. "I know that these men and women have fought for our country; they've risked their lives for me to do ignorant stuff like this," Burrus said. He says he knows the importance of the 70 year tradition, since his father has a cross in the display. It's one of 5,000 others in the park "I can't say I did, but I mean, from the video evidence, it looks like my car, so I guess I have to say that it was me," Burrus said. [FULL] .At least there's some sanguinity there. Not so in ‘Black Lice Matter’ Vandalism Wave Strikes Confederate Memorials Around the Country.  Or  these (http://tinyurl.com/Leftist-SOB).  The most despicable action, IMO, comes courtesy of Code Pink with this fund raising broadside (juxtaposed with their previous stance).  Senator McCarthy, call your office. Sigh.

Carlin Does PC

George Carlin - Political Correctness is fascism pretending to be Manners Blogged videos are mostly skipped over, but this is an instance where the narrative is so crisp; so succinct, and so sensible,  that you may want to make an exception.  Oh, and Carlin, here, is SFW.

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tommy lee smith

Limbaugh- GOP v. Trump

Where Limbaugh Spanked the GOP

Rush past appearance on Fox News Sunday, confronts that weasel Mitt Romney and GOP pals, and, well, kicks the their collective asses.  Two months later it still resonates. I will be srsly interested in your dissenting opinion.