New Challenger Amateur Video has Surfaced

Here is a new video that has surfaced of the Challenger disaster. Basically what had happened was that the weather was too cold and there was a problem with a large o-ring. There had been warnings that the flight should have been postponed.

It is interesting that the people watching are not aware that something has gone wrong.

At the time this happened I was attending the White House Conference on Small Business. President Reagan sent a message to all the state meetings to please continue the work that day.

David Sneed

Old Vinyl Tarps

Freitag from Switzerland has developed some good sustainable ideas. They take old vinyl truck tarps and make handbags and computer bags. This year their estimated sales are $32 million (in US currency.)

Freitag is a good example of safety through quality.

It is interesting from an historical standpoint that from the outset they were focused on getting the job done not on the methods used. They washed the tarps in their bathtubs at home. Anything capital intensive was approached from actual labor savings and not from some kind of best practices that required large initial funding. Management grew not from a business plan hierarchy but from actual need when it was needed. Too often businesses build a management team before building product.

1. No advertising. Word of mouth.
2. No lifestyle change as business grows. Modest salaries for owners.
3. Minimal loans. They started with $2,500 from savings for an industrial sewing machine.
4. Niche market. Urban professionals in the creative industry.
5. Experience marketed: "People seem to appreciate the patina of wear and feel good about buying something recycled."
6. Old rented facility
7. The market allows labor-intensive products with high cost Swiss labor.
8. They do not own most of their retail distribution though they do have nine stores.
9. Biggest barrier: access to raw material. They have three people always looking that includes hanging around truck stops.
10. The two owners are also the Board.
11. One owner focused on business;the other on concept.

David Sneed

Cowboy Safety Choices

This photo was taken during the snowstorm in Lincoln, Nebraska on February 4, 2012. Up to 20 inches of snow fell. There were many vehicle crashes. Smart drivers stayed off the road.

Is a bicycle a valid transportation alternative in a snow storm? I really wish the photographer. Jacob Hannah of the Journal Star had gotten the rest of the story about this bicyclist.

I suppose that ideally we should watch weather reports. If a snow storm is coming we should plan how we could avoid being out in the storm at all.

David Sneed