Category Archives: humour

the doctor’s Top 10 Cities for Supply Management Centres of Excellence (Where Should Your Supply Management Organization Be Located? Part V)

Yesterday, I gave you the top 10 mega-regions in which to locate your Supply Management Centre of Excellence, and indicated the major cities in each region that should top your list. For those of you keeping count, I listed 46 cities. If you’re indecisive, that’s a lot of cities to choose from! So, today, I am going to give you the doctor‘s top 10 cites for your Supply Management Centre of Excellence and his rationale!

Rank City Mega-Region Rationale
10 Dallas The Dallas Triangle The telco corridor. Oil and gas USA. Just a few hours north of Silicon Hills. Finance. More Fortune 500 headquarters than any other city in the USA. The centre-point of the largest metropolitan area in the south and the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the USA. East-West and North-South focal point of the interstate highway system — get anything, anywhere, anytime. One of the largest, and busiest, airports in the world (so you won’t miss Chicago). Sports, sports, and more sports. The world famous Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. People named JR. A great education system. Birthplace of Amy Acker, who, before taking the Whedonverse by storm, made sure that those of us who were adults with young children didn’t get the short end of the Wishbone.
9 Frankfurt The Frankfurt-Gärtringen Corridor The stock exchange, renewable energy, great transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, and German engineering! And let’s not forget Frankfurther Rindswurst. Woot! Woot!
8 Rio de Janeiro The Rio de Janeiro to Sao Paulo corridor It’s not the CRIB, it’s the BRIC, and it starts with Brazil. It’s the emerging South American powerhouse, which is the most visited city in the southern hemisphere (and home to Carnival), on the coast, and surrounded by a great transportation infrastructure. It is the headquarters of many state-owned companies, the centre of the oil and gas industry in Brazil, and the second largest industrial producer in the country. Foxconn, who produces all of Apple’s iPads and iPhones is down the corridor in Sao Paulo, so you know that Brazil, and Rio de Janeiro, is here to stay as a major player in global trade.
7 Paris Greater Paris La ville des lumières. La ville de l’amour. La vie en rose. Audrey Tautou. La mode, l’architecture, et la philosophie. Quoi d’autre avez-vous besoin?
6 Seoul Greater Seoul A megacity with a population over 10 Million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world, that is home to major multinational conglomerates and one of the world’s top ten financial and commercial centres. A very technologically advanced infrastructure and an openness to the Western Way of doing business. Architecture, fashion, and culture extrude from every crevice. And it’s home to the Wonder Girls of K-Pop. How can you go wrong?
5 Amsterdam Amsterdam – Brussels – Antwerp Central European location, an almost universal understanding of English, great international relations, strong fashion and tourism industries, architecture, and culture (even excluding its world famous Red Light District). Plus, lots and lots of conventions — no travelling required!
4 London London – Leeds – Chester More visits from The Doctor than any other place on earth (and the most likely city to be the first to participate in intergalactic trade). On a more current note, the LSE, the fashion scene and haberdashery shops, and the entertainment industry draw all shapes and sorts of creative talent. Plus, it gave us The Clash and Generation X. What more can you ask for?
3 Tokyo Greater Tokyo Domo arigato gozaimashita! You have to interact with a lot of people everyday. And not all of these people are polite. Why not go somewhere politeness reigns? Plus, it’s the home of Sanrio (hello kitty) and the J-Pop explosion. How can you go wrong? (Oh, and the financial clout, hi-tech infrastructure, and the wide range of cultural pursuits from ikebana and origami to shopping and whiskey, doesn’t hurt either.) And if that’s not enough, anime, manga, and gaming central! (If you think Gibson is inspired, just wait until you read Masamune Shirow!)
2 New York Boston – New York – Washington Corridor If you’re gonna be in Supply Management for the long haul, you gotta have Heart. And since New York is The Heart of Rock & Roll, it’s as good a place as any to start. Plus, the easy access to capital doesn’t hurt!
1 Los Angeles The California Coast Despite our desire to move to a paperless office, we still have to deal with a mountain of paper every day. Purchase Orders, Goods Receipts, Invoices, Import Forms, Export Forms, RFXs, etc. etc. So why not base your Supply Management organization in the home city of Wil Wheaton, the guy who made collating paper cool!

Where Are My Marbles?

This is the third post in the continuing saga of the doctor and the quest to get his marbles back from the Twitter Bird. Part I and Part II are still archived on the site.

I’ve looked way up high
on the top of the CN Tower
And I’ve looked way down low
in the depths of Sarma
I’ve looked into
a Raven’s maw
And in a hipster’s ‘fro
(what does that do for karma?)

I’ve looked near
just outside the door
I’ve looked far
in the Serengeti
I’ve even looked here
under the mounds of paper on my desk
And I still don’t know where the heck they are
(am I starting to sound petty?)

I’ve looked on land
where it’s nice and dry
I’ve looked in the sea
where it’s oh so very wet
I’ve even asked the band
(who only work 10-2-midnite)
Where they could be
(but have received no answer yet)

I’ve run to the hills
(on the advice of the Iron Maiden)
And rushed to the valley
(of the ancient kings)
I’ve checked all the mills
(and some still make paper, you know)
And even asked O’malley
(down in the alley, improving his swing)

No luck have I had
even though I have tried
No trace have I found
outside or inside
Of anything smooth
shiny, or clear
Or anything round
like my marbles, so dear.

Damn you TwitterBird!
Give Me Back My Marbles!

Epilogue

Quoth the TwitterBird, Never!

I Am The Infotainer

I am the infotainer
and I know just where I ebb
Another social blogger
on another social web
Today I am your favourite
I may have earned your likes
But I know the rag, you’ll forget my tag
And I won’t be here in another year
If I don’t maintain the spikes

I am the infotainer
and I’ve had to pay my price
The sites I did not join at first
Now make me post it twice
Ah, but still they come to taunt me
Still they want their say
So I’ve learned to blog with an eye on the log
I let ’em scrawl my wall and I follow ’em all
Then they go their merry way

I am the infotainer
Read all around the world
I’ve graced all kinds of forums
And blogged about the squirrels
I can’t remember topics
I don’t remember tags
Ah, but what the hell
You know it’s just as well
‘Cause after a week and a thousand tweets
It all becomes the same

I am the infotainer
I bring along my pen
I’d like to write a page or two
But you can’t wait ’til then
And I’ve got to meet expenses
I got to stay in line
Gotta place those ads for new brake-pads
and online gaming and picture hanging
So I just don’t have the time

I am the infotainer
I’ve come to speak my mind
You’ve read my latest blog post
It’s part of my timeline
It took me days to write it
They were the best days of my life
It was a beautiful piece
But you found it obese
If you’re gonna get a tweet
You have to make it neat
So you cut it down to one-three-five

I am the infotainer
The idol of my age
I don’t make any money
When I become the sage
and post with the Technoratti
and the LinkedIn messiahs
If I miss a day, I’ll fade away
I’ll drop off of the page like I had the phage
Like another pariah

I am the infotainer
and I know just where I ebb
Another social blogger
on another social web
Today I am your favourite
I may have earned your likes
But I know the rag, you’ll forget my tag
And I won’t be here in another year
If I don’t maintain the spikes