|
|
|
| MATR Newsletter - Fri Feb 10, 2006 |
"And now in one hour’s time I’ll be out there again. I’ll raise my eyes and look down that corridor four feet wide with ten lonely seconds to justify my whole existence." Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), Chariots of Fire, before running in the Olympics (1981).
There are reasons for the 'Montana mystique' http://www.matr.net/article-18099.html
Come Home Montana
MEDA Entrepreneur Working Group
- Featured "Come Home Montana" Community~BAKER
The community needs fully-qualified tradesmen such as plumbers, and electricians, painters more than ever to move into the community and start up their own business.
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Career ~ Accounting / Credit Specialist, Billings, Montana.
OneEighty Communications is the only facilities-based Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) to be bootstrapped in Montana.
- Montana-Jobs.net Featured Talent ~ Desired Field: Project Management / Product Development
New Product Development Manager and Product Marketing Manager Responsible for meeting order and profitability targets for a portfolio of complex telecommunication test products.
- There are reasons for the 'Montana mystique'
I once asked some members of a Boise club for homesick Montanans — there actually is such a thing — to explain the attraction. Instead of natural beauty, they talked about the small size of the towns and their old-fashioned Western character.
Education
- Scholarship Established at the University of Montana to Encourage Future Native American Entrepreneurs
The Helen and Dan Kidder Scholarship was established by the Kidders’ daughter, Danielle Ross Aman, and her husband, Tom, of Aberdeen, S.D., to honor her parents.
- Innovation Days will show off potential young entrepreneurs
"These off-timetable learning experiences help the students become more engaged, involved and socially responsible members of their future communities, and they demonstrate to employers that UW-Madison students bring the 'full package' to their companies," said College of Engineering dean Paul Peercy, in a press release.
- The British public says start-ups key to competitiveness
Almost two-thirds of Britons believe more encouragement for start-up businesses is needed to meet threats to the country’s competitiveness from China and India.
Montana Business
- Bozeman Author, Tom Egelhoff Pens College Textbook - "How To Market, Advertise And Promote Your Business Or Service In A Small Town."
Missouri State University will be the second college to design a collegiate level course around Tom Egelhoff's "How To Market, Advertise And Promote Your Business Or Service In A Small Town."
- Yes, it does take a rocket scientist. Education key to the future
The iPod nation needs an eyewash about its techno-future.
- Schools lagging badly in technological world.
"(O'Connell) understands that technology is evolving rapidly, that international competition is intensifying and that we need to dramatically overhaul and strengthen our educational system to meet these challenges," said Jim Hawley, California Director of TechNet, a bipartisan network of CEOs.
- Idaho legislative committee approves measure to increase math, science teacher pay
The measure would cost the state around $2.8 million and would increase pay for those teachers 3.75 percent - about $1,125 for a teacher earning $30,000.
- U.S. could fall behind in global 'brain race'
"Today's Sputnik? It's a little bigger. It's called China," he says. "The projected growth in high-technology products from there is staggering."
- Montana education, the future and a flat world
"This could be the first generation of the American middle class that could not be certain that their children would do better than their parents." Pat Williams
- Springboard into science at Hamilton Middle School by bringing the outside world to the students. Science Radio Program Entertains, Educates Young Montanans
“These kids are our future,” Leavell said. “They are our scientists and our inventors. I am trying to bring in adults who will inspire them.” Do you have an expertise in math or science that you could discuss with the students? Jane Leavell would like to talk with you. (406) 363-2121
- 'Suitcase museum' traveling Montana to educate students about art
"We know — we're 100 percent convinced — that a comprehensive education should include arts education,"
Montana Economic Development
- Maitre d' in a PC — Wine 'n Dine of Missoula offers shoppers options to combine compatible foods and beverages
Wine 'n Dine is easy to use. It sets up in the store, perhaps near the wine aisles. It is loaded with information about drinks the store sells: wines, beers, hard liquors, specialty brews. Customers can read about each product.
- Searching for the 'Golden Rolodex' in western Montana. Who do you know?
Do you know a person or business everyone else should know?
- Three Rivers Communications plans $10 million in capital improvements
The budgeted funds are spread throughout all 29 3 Rivers exchanges, covering an area from Browning in the northern part of the state down to Lima, near the Montana/Idaho border.
- Pipe supply business, ig Sky Pipe and Supply in Great Falls secures niche in recycled plastic
"There hasn't been a market for recycled plastic for quite a while, so this is great," said Greg Wennerberg, manager of the local landfill. "Any time you can reduce trash by recycling, it's a good thing."
- Montana's Top 50 Employers
- The Chippewa Cree Tribe is forming energy company
The tribe's idea is to become not only the owner of the land but also operator and developer, tribal attorney Dan Belcourt said. Chippewa Cree Tribal Energy would hire drillers to produce the gas wells and will keep a much larger portion of the profits.
Funding and Building your Business
- Economic development is wrong excuse for keeping ICBMs in Montana
f Montana's senators can argue that 500 missiles are needed for national protection, their constituents should be all ears. But if they base their contentions only on artificially bolstering the Great Falls economy with outdated weapons, their arguments are disingenuous and the decommissioning should begin posthaste.
Global Telework
- Letter of Intent: Confidentiality / Non-Disclosure Agreement
While Angels and venture capitalists will almost never sign these in the context of an investment, they are almost always mandatory in an M&A transaction.
- Start-up failures. The question isn't why they fail so often, more by what miracle any survive!
The big surprise is that any new ventures make it because the potential points and mechanisms for failure are so very numerous - and almost always human related.
- The Art of Rainmaking by Guy Kawasaki Sales fixes everything.
You can blow all the smoke that you like about brand awareness, corporate image, and feedback from early adopters, but you either make it rain or you don't.
- Inside Entrepreneurship: How to improve the value of your business
It's important to note that the purpose of a formal written valuation is to guide discussions, not provide any dollar guarantee.
- Women `underutilized' in executive roles, study says
``We want to be a part of the solution, not just point fingers. It's about trying to help companies pursue better business practices,''
Regional Economic Development
- Employers Step Up Efforts to Lure Stay-at-Home Moms Back to Work
Booz Allen Hamilton, Lehman Brothers, Deloitte & Touche and Merrill Lynch, among others, are working to lower the barriers with targeted recruitment, special retraining, mentoring, and new kinds of employment relationships designed to keep ex-employees tied to the firms.
Government Technology
- What Are the Characteristics of a Good Business Location?
Here, in no particular order – except for the first and the last – is my list of 10 basic indicators of a good business climate.
Washington State Business
- Counties Sharing Limited IT Wealth
Participating localities meet monthly to discuss IT applications that could benefit their agencies.
- US plans massive data sweep
Little-known data-collection system could troll news, blogs, even e-mails. Will it go too far?
- Kentucky Governor Fletcher's Website Now Offering Podcasting
Governor Fletcher becomes one of the first governors in the nation to utilize the growing technology that expands the use of Internet-based multi-media to reach constituents.
- Schwarzenegger Administration Unveils ''Green California'' Website
The new website is filled with ideas, guidelines, reference materials, engineering data and environmentally friendly purchasing information to assist state and local government agencies and California businesses with the shift toward environmental sustainability, energy conservation and the reduction of landfill waste.
Other Economies
- Zillow.com reveals venture. Will allow anyone to calculate value of any home.
Without having to reveal any information about themselves or pay a fee, consumers can enter an address to see the value of a home along with satellite, aerial or parcel views of the property.
Incubators and R&D
- Where Are the World’s Top “Knowledge Competitive” Economies?
The WKCI is an integrated and overall benchmark of the knowledge capacity, capability and sustainability of 125 regions across the globe, and the extent to which this knowledge is translated into economic value, and transferred into the wealth of the citizens of these regions, utilizing 19 knowledge economy benchmarks, including employment levels in the knowledge economy, patent registrations, R&D investment by the private and public sector, education expenditure, information and communication technology infrastructure, and access to private equity.
University TechTransfer
- The University of Montana takes on state global warming study
“We are not getting the kind of leadership we need to deal with the climate change we all know exists, except maybe our president,” said Richard Opper, the director of the Department of Environmental Quality in Helena. “We are seeing states taking the leadership sorely lacking from the federal government.”
- Research Roundup at Montana State University (#257), Apple boom, Mosquito roundup, Guinea pigs for terrorists, Bug winners
Meinhardt has trained 10,000 people in 44 states on water safety issues and said evidence indicates that terrorists may test their methods in small, rural communities.
- Rocky Mountain Lab Visitors Center opens in Hamilton, Montana
The federal lab in Hamilton opened up its new visitors center last week, complete with an interactive kiosk that has a short video detailing the lab's humble beginnings some 100 years ago and what important research has happened there since.
Small Diameter Timber Utilization
- University faculty create hydrogen fuel-related technology. License available from MSU Tech Transfer
The invention is aimed at producing hydrogen as a fuel using inexpensive ingredients. Companies interested in licensing the technology should respond by March 3 to the MSU Technology Transfer Office at (406) 994-7868 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].
Careers
- Poplars May Become Navajo Cash Crop
"This is a brand-new product for us," said NAPI conservation manager Buddy Benally. "We're still learning how to plant and harvest poplars in a commercially viable way. It's a big-scale project that will take a while to mature, but we definitely plan on doing it."
Energy
- Eleven Commandments For Smart Negotiating
There are 11 basic commandments to help you negotiate the best possible deal in any economic climate when changing jobs, whether internally or with a new company.
Connectivity & Communications
- Tom's of Maine to buy power from Neb. wind farm
The 100,000-square-foot Sanford building uses the equivalent power of 260 average-size homes.
Space and Zero Gravity Research
- Wireless Technologies May Be Key To Continued Prosperity
Why are countries with only 40 percent of the world's population (e.g., China) graduating ten times as many engineers and scientists as we are? Why are our schools pumping out so many lawyers? There is no value-added in legal work."
- Prague Seeks City-wide Free Internet Zone
The proposal comes as more major cities, especially in the United States, are wrestling with offering municipal wireless services to get their citizens easy access to broadband. New York, San Francisco and New Orleans all plan to go wireless, and Philadelphia signed a deal with Earthlink Jan. 30 to get a citywide wireless network running by next year.
- Are Internet toll roads ahead? Web heavy-hitters and user advocates to argue in Senate
Today's hearing will spotlight a debate that began to boil in November, when AT&T Chairman Edward Whitacre noted in a Business Week interview that video and phone applications use more of the company's Internet plumbing and that for "anybody to expect to use these pipes (for) free is nuts!"
- 3 hydrogen-filled balloons in the stratosphere could provide the coverage of 1,100 cell towers in North Dakota
In North Dakota, former Gov. Ed Schafer is backing a plan to loft wireless network repeaters on balloons high above the state to fill gaps in cellular coverage.
- "TV and newspaper companies risk losing an entire generation of users unless they immediately start promoting their online products,"
The average online consumer spends the same amount of time on the Web, as the do on TV, a market research firm said.
- Broadband: A link to the outside world. By Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.)
While the Telecom Act promised industry and technology convergence, only recently is it materializing — with telephone, cable and wireless companies invading one another’s turf.
- Two Cities Receive Technology Awards From U.S. Conference of Mayors
Honored for a wireless broadband network installation that enhances e-government services and provides a direct connection between local public agencies and their citizens and visitors.
- Missoula hospitals enter the electronic age of EMR's
“Doctors are very adamant about the security of EMRs,” says Rogers. “The reality is, it would be easier for you to break into an office and steal paper records than it would be to access electronic health records.”
- Towns caught in clash over Net access
“For me this (Broadband and WI-FI) is a necessity – a utility, not a luxury,”
- As cellular technology advances, University of Montana ponders future of dorm telephones
Are land lines something students even want?
Cool Stuff That's Coming
- MSU rocket roars into space above New Mexico desert
Scientists hope MOSES and other spacecraft will help reveal what's behind the sun's magnetic and, at times, explosive personality.
- Super Vision Sans Bionics. Sharper Image, Better Performance
"Theoretically, this should be able to double the distance that a person can see clearly,"
- Invention: Exploding ink and Cannabis cough cure
Qinetiq suggests printed fuses could be used for precisely controlling fireworks, triggering vehicle air bags or for conventional munitions. Ganging hundreds or thousands of fuses together could even make a miniature rocket engine capable of precisely adjusting the orbital position of a spacecraft, the company says.
- TextPayMe: Eliminating the IOU
let people send money using text messaging
- Nano Coatings Paint Green Future. Could replace many of today's industrial paints and coatings
It all adds up to a more ecologically friendly process with a welcome side benefit: lower manufacturing costs.
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the free weekly MATR newsletter, please visit our list info page
