How much entertainment do I actually need?

     I've spent a big chunk of my life enjoying the entertainment provided to me. I like sports, music, movies, video games, stand up comedy, and a handful of TV shows. I won't say the time was wasted. Entertainment has cheered me when I was down, allowed me to relax when I've over worked myself and when entertainment is at it's best it can be quite inspiring. While the activity of consuming the entertainment is passive, there can be times when it triggers action. When I was young I was often inspired heavily by comic books, cartoons and video games to draw my own characters. When I would watch football I would often end up at the park trying to imitate Barry Sanders, Ickey Woods or Joe Montana. A lot of my sense of humor is inspired by Monty Python, I still get incredulous looks when I try to explain why Mister Hilter was funny. In a way, the entertainment I enjoyed formed some of my development. 

    I'm sitting here pondering, have I consumed too much? Is entertainment just less inspiring now? Did I just get lazy? I like to create but it's hard. Life has become so full, right? Work, school, wife, kids, 5 hour marathon of The Office. Who has time to write, draw, inspire others, exercise or just enjoy the company of family? I have to know if Dexter gets caught, if Chris Johnson breaks the rushing record or  if I can save Princess Zelda again. 

    I've been telling myself over the last 12 months, "After I'm done taking classes I have to get back to creating". I know I'm not a great writer, a great artist and I will never be Barry Sanders but I have a feeling that I have the capacity create and inspire. I realize that I do need to take breaks and just enjoy some good entertainment but I really need a diet. I have to give it a shot, perhaps this is the first step. 

Humbly,

Joe Martin

Inner Strength and Growth

Over the last 18 months I've been in the process of completing accelerate coursework through Northeastern's Business Management Bachelor Degree program. This has been in addition to raising a family of three and working full-time. I've had precious little time for a social life or recreation. Most of my hobbies have been all but abandoned and I realize some of them will never be picked up again, of that I am okay with. Beyond what I've learned in my studies I've also learned that if I apply myself fully to a goal there is always a way to meet and exceed it. I will never accept the low bar others may set for me nor will I let even the moon impede my trajectory to the stars. I've got 9 days left of class but the journey doesn't end there. I will continue to expand my knowledge in an attempt to leave an indelible mark on the world. At the same time, I plan to spend a lot more time with my family to facilitate the growth of my wife and children because even if I don't make it to see tomorrow, they are my legacy. But for the time being: back to the books.

Carry-on!

Joe 

Hot Hip-Hop Videos

Here are a handful of Hip-Hop videos I've been enjoying lately. Fair warning though, if anyone is sensitive to imagery and lyrics that may be considered profane, this isn't for you. HIP HOP!













If there are any videos that you think I should be watching please share in the comments below.

Thanks!

Pax East 2013 - 5 Games You Should Keep Your Eye On

I basically go to Pax East for 3 things.

1.) Streetpass- I got over 100 Mii's on Saturday (I completed my "Find Mii" quest).
2.) Checking out Cosplay costumes. I love seeing game designs brought to life.
3.) Indie games

I know over the next several months I will be inundated with ads for "Triple A" titles from super developers and mega-publishers. Some of them I will get and be happy with and others will fail to meet the hype they get. The teams that will work on those big games I have all kinds of respect for, they never seem to get the respect they deserve. With that being said, I have heaps of respect for small teams that scrape together what they can to bring their vision into reality. Some of them are working on their ideas solo, or with small teams and in almost every case with a shoestring budget. So, this post is for a handful of games from small teams.

Mercenary Kings-Tribute

Mercenary Kings is basically a Metal Slug with RPG elements and cover mechanics. You can craft weapons from parts that you pick up, level your character to satisfy those RPG needs and you can duck behind cover and while your enemies try to riddle you with bullets (the developer is also using the Gears of War reload system which is awesome). The developer, Tribute, also worked on the Scott Pilgrim game and their design aesthetic carries over into this title. The build I played at Pax East was a 4 player split screen. The controls were really responsive and the animations are excellent. Even the death animation brought a smile to my face.

Mercenary Kings

A.N.N.E - Gamesbymo

Gamesbymo calls A.N.N.E a shmup/platformer hybrid. In it you play as "25" a robot in love. Your quest is to find the missing parts of A.N.N.E on foot (and monowheel when you "run") and on your spaceship. I played with a usb Super Nintendo style gamepad and the controls were very tight in the platforming areas. You traverse in a Metroid-vania fashion from platform to platform grabbing loot and supplies to get you to the next area. In the spaceship portions I used a tractor beam to lift up large pieces of debris and whip them out of the way. In some cases you also need to use the debris to get 25 to a new area after you disembark your ship. The physics in the spaceship portions gave moving the debris real weight and it was really satisfying flinging them around. It's still early in it's development but the demo was a lot of fun. 

A.N.N.E

Guns of Icarus Online - Musegames

Have you ever wanted to man a fully armed airship? Well of course you have. Guns of Icarus Online caught my eye as I walked through the indie booth because it doesn't look like an indie game. The game has top tier design written all over it. Amazing ship models, brilliant lighting effects and realistic environmental events. You play as one part of a team of 4. There are 3 roles, captain, engineer and gunner. All roles can perform pretty much like the others except they get certain boosts when the perform duties in their role. It's really nerve racking when you're tracking an enemy ship and they suddenly disappear into a giant cloud of dust. It gets really frantic when you come under direct fire and you have to decide whether to keep shooting or start repairing your ship to keep it from becoming toothpicks. It's actually on sale now on Steam and it's available for PC, Mac and Linux. They are also looking for some Kickstarter funding to add features later on.

Legend of Dungeon - Robotloveskitty

Legend of Dungeon is part dungeon crawler action and part rougelike. It really harkens back to early adventure games, gathering loot, fighting baddies and delving down down down into a dungeon. As far  as I can tell the game is all dungeon. I spoke to one of the developers while I was there and she said that when you play solo it is a permadeath game. When you play in a group of 4, you follow the rest of your teammates as a ghost. This game is another example of simple design meetin beautiful effects. The alpha is currently on sale now and I haven't gotten very far but the game is beautiful and lots of fun. As of right now the co-op is restricted to 4 players on the same computer, I'm not sure if there are any plans to add online multiplayer in the future.

Transistor - Super Giant Games

I waited a couple hours to see this game that I only heard about this past Wednesday. Super Giant Games previous game "Bastion" was a perfect mix of stunning design, solid gameplay, engrossing story and amazing music and Transistor seems to be following in it's footsteps. All of what made Bastion great have been carried over to Transistor but the visual style is all new and they have added a strategy element to the gameplay. The game allows you to freeze time to plot and plan attacks. You can plot your route and what attacks you can perform during that planned route. The mechanic does limit how much you can do during the plan and there's also a cool-down period in between uses. The cool down period makes you vulnerable so you have to be careful to keep moving and/or take cover if you're unable to eliminate you enemies straight away. I'm really glad to have gotten my hands on the game for a little while and I look forward to it's release some time in 2014.

Closing thoughts:
I want to be clear that I didn't go to the show with a press pass but all of these developers were very approachable and open to questions. It was a pleasure to meet with them and see (and hear) their passion first hand. I wish them all the a lot of luck and I have the upmost respect for their craft and devotion.

Please take some time and check out the developers sites to learn more about these great games:

Mercenary Kings

A.N.N.E

Guns of Icarus

Legend of Dungeon

Transistor

Pax East 2013 - Photo Gallery

So I brought my Lumix GF3 to PAX East yesterday to get some pics of the show floor and some awesome Cosplay costumes. Please take a look and let me know what you think in the comments bellow. I will also be posting a short post about games that I'm looking forward too (most of them are indie games). 

I have mixed emotions about bumping into her in a dark alley

A sea of table top Games

Black Flag Booth Banner

Big Daddy & Little Sister

Ryze-League of Legends

Cloud looking proud

I have no idea what they were dressed as but they looked great.

Doods Getting their game on

Authorities Actions

These guys are always good for a laugh

Prince

These lovely ladies are looking quite heroic

This guy don't look happy

I'm not sure what game they are from either but they looked amazing

Sam.. I Am.

Guarding merch...

Show room, well part of it.

This guy was ordering a shrubbery.

Dood looks like a real head cracker.

Interesting looking MMO.

Well worth the wait.

It's Red's turn...

Greg Kasavin talking about Transistor

People playing Transistor in the Super Giant Games booth.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! (and tell your friends about my blog)

Pax East-My New Hero

Pax East - Transistor

Waiting to see Super Giant Games -Transistor

Pax East-Geared up

All dressed up and got games to play.

My Pax East -Dishes

Before I go to Pax East I have to do my chores first.

Playing with Garageband

I remember opening up Garageband when I first got my Macbook Pro and saying, "Well, that's cool." Then I promptly shut it down and didn't touch it until now, about a year and a half later. I was surprised that there are quite a few loops you can use to make songs/ringtones. I can't play an instrument but I love music so pulling loops into the editor and arranging them is about my speed. This "song" was made using 4 looping samples. I'm by no means a professional so if you're like me and thinking about trying Garageband out give it a shot. Anyway, below is my first little "composition" with the program. Let me know what you think.

Analysis of the BMW Group Manufacturing MINI in the UK

  I haven't had much time to post to this blog because of school. I've been doing plenty of writing for school though. Below is a research paper I wrote for my International Business class. I bought a Mini Cooper back in June and I thought this would be a good excuse for doing some research. I know it's not formated like a traditional blog post but I think the information is quite interesting. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. 

Analysis of the BMW Group Manufacturing in the UK

1.     Executive Summary

By all accounts, the United Kingdom is far from an industrial powerhouse. With less than 20% of it’s labor force dedicated to manufacturing the success of the BMW Group acquisition of the MINI brand and continued investment in the UK manufacturing plants are no short of miraculous.  My analysis of the BMW Group’s strategy for investing in MINI plants in the UK is focused on innovative manufacturing processes, sustainability and the revitalization of an iconic brand that keeps on motoring.

2.     Company Background

Based in Munich Germany, the BMW Group is the manufacturer of the premium automotive and motorcycle brands of BMW, Rolls Royce and MINI.  The BMW Group's global operation consists of more than 25 production and assembly plants in 14 countries.  While all the production plants are run directly by the BMW Group many of the assembly plants are operated together with external partners. Central to The BMW Group operations is their “Strategy Number ONE” initiative that focuses on 2 targets: profitability and enhance long-term value in times of change.  The key pillars of this strategy are growth, shaping the future, profitability and access to technology and customers.  This is all summed up in the BMW Group’s mission statement: “the BMW Group is the world’s leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility. (BMW Group SVP, 2012) 

3.     Country Background

The United Kingdom’s main industries include banking, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, and tourism.  The majority of the UK labor force can be attributed to services, which accounts for 80.4% leaving industry with about 18.2% and agriculture at 1.4%.  From 1992 until 2008 the UK’s economy enjoyed a period of unbroken growth. In 2008 the global fiscal crisis hit the UK as it did in many other countries.  It resulted in consumers cutting their spending to pay off debt which resulted in lowering demand, slowing production, massive job loss and a prolonged and steep dip in GDP. UK manufacturing continues to slow according to The Guardian’s Phillip Inman who reports that PMI fell from 48.1 to 4.75 in September 2012. (Inman, 2012)

4.     Entry Strategy

In the early 1990’s The BMW Group made a push towards being a global auto-manufacturing leader in part by acquiring the UK based Rover Group The Rover Group acquisition in 1994, which brought Land Rover, Rover, MG, Triumph and Mini brands, almost completely fell apart by 2000 when the BMW Group sold off everything except Mini. (BMW Group website, n.d.)

The United Kingdom is the original birthplace of the Mini brand of automobiles originally built by the British Motor Corporation, a production run that spanned for 41 years before ceasing production in 2000. After the sale of the Rover Group BMW held on to Oxford based factory that was meant to build Rover’s and retrofitted the facility to produce the redesigned MINI. (Paternie, 2002)  A significant investment was made to modernize and automate the plant to ensure a high level of quality and efficiency.  Since 2001 The BMW Group has been producing MINI’s as their premium small-car segment in modernized Oxford and Swindon plants. (BMW Group website, n.d.) The initial forecasting for the plant was to produce 100,000 vehicles a year but by August of 2011 the plant had already produced 2 million MINIs.

Through acquiring such a beloved brand, keeping the production in the country that founded the original Mini and with significant investment into tooling and training the BMW Group demonstrated an effective entry and sustainment strategy.

5.     Marketing and R&D Strategies

The MINI is marketed as a hip fun to drive vehicle that is fun for all ages and classes. The MINI’s unique attributes are constantly played up in their ads and marketing materials. It is a vehicle that is small but premium. Not aerodynamic but quick. With thousands of customization options no two MINI’s are the same, which speaks to the individual. While MINI owners like to have their cars different from everyone else there is also a strong community by the brand itself. Many communities of MINI owners get together for rally races and MINI also sponsors large events that attract thousands of owners together and celebrate the car they love.

With a sport mode, performance suspension, dynamic stability control, dynamic traction control and 37mpg highway BMW has developed MINI to be the best of both worlds. Furthermore, the design of the vehicle itself and the process to produce it is a team effort between Munich and the UK BMW/MINI divisions. They have painstakingly put everything into the car while maintaining a very high level of quality. The MINI plants adhere to lean manufacturing principles ensuring on-time delivery and keeps stocks of components to the minimum. (Paternie, 2012)

The BMW Group’s global production strategies are focused on sustainability. These activities and the progress to meet these standards are surprisingly transparent. They focus on the sustainability of environmental factors and that of their workforce. The Oxford Production plant is operated under Lean principles that focuses on just in time standard just in time manufacturing. There focus is on reducing waste while maintaining a high level of quality. The BMW Group's domestic and international strategy is highly focused on sustainability. It is a commitment in ensuring sustainable manufacturing globally while also ensuring the humane treatment of workers and reducing any negative impacts on the environment. Central to this commitment, the BMW Group has signed the Global Compact of the United Nations and is committed to implementing its ten principles at all locations including those in the UK. In the BMW Group's Sustainability Value Report (SVR) they list the UN ten principles and openly reports their progress towards meeting them. The Principles are:

1. Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

2. Make sure there is no complicity in human rights abuses

3. Uphold the freedom of associated and recognition to collective bargaining.

4. Elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor

5. Effective abolition of child labor

6. Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

7. Support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges

8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility

9. Development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies

10. Work against corruption in all its forms, including exertion and bribery 

(BMW Group SVP, 2012, p. 115)

Based on the UN principles listed above, the BMW Group's strategy for entering countries is focused on sustainability and adherence to the pact. BMW enters countries and/or into alliances with countries that they believe can reach their humanitarian and environmental responsibilities. BMW's alliance with the UN provides them with access to UN member states that are focused on the same sustainable goals. It's clear that BMW's strategy rests on happy workers, reduction of waste and the maximization of resources. 

6.     Opportunities and Challenges

There initial expansion strategy hit a speed bump when the Rover Group full brand offerings didn’t come to fruition but the BMW Group’s decision to keep MINI has paid off. The BMW Group just recently committed to investing another $387 million into the manufacturing operations in the UK. ("BMW Investment in UK MINI," 2012) This commitment to supporting these plants and the 5,500 UK associates that work there present an incredible opportunity to help bolster UK manufacturing. The investment will allow the BMW Group and the MINI plant invest in bringing newer generations the vehicle lineup to market.

The MINI does face some new challenges in the form of competition in some key markets. In particular, the Fiat 500’s introduction to the US market is also going for market of people that want a fun yet fuel efficient vehicle for which MINI has been the top brand.  

7.     Evaluation and Conclusion

The success and the continued demand for the MINI has paid off well for the BMW Group and the plants in the UK are a major part of that. The associates working in these plants have a tremendous amount of national pride for the MINI. The BMW Group supports this pride by still offering MINI accessories with the UK’s Union Jack. The plants’ are equipment with state of the art robots, measuring equipment and quality policies that are a staple of BMW manufacturing expertise. Even with a great marketing strategy the MINI has a cult following in which the brand sells itself. The BMW Groups investments into the MINI UK plans have been and will continue to be a lucrative strategy for expanding on an iconic brand.

  

References:

BMW Group Sustainbable Value Report 2011 [Annual Report]. (2012). Retrieved from BMW Group Website: http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_prod/e/0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/verantwortung/svr_2010/ziele_kennzahlen2011.html

BMW Group to invest £250 million in UK for MINI manufacturing operations. (2012, July 09). RushLane. Retrieved from http://www.rushlane.com/latest/auto-news/mini-news

BMW Group website. (n.d.). http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_prod/e/nav/index.html?http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_prod/e/0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/home/home.html

Economy Tracker: GDP. (2012, October 25). BBC News Business. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10613201

Inman, P. (2012, November 1). UK manufacturing slowdown continues. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/01/uk-manufacturing-slowdown-continues-gdp

Paternie, P. C. (2002). MINI. [Google Books]. Retrieved from GOOGLE ebookstore

Please leave comments below and thanks for reading,

-Joe