Kiger's Notebook

New Roch. biz - Turd Herders - digs in

When Josh Valentino was trying to round up a business plan, he smelled success in Rochester’s backyards. 

And the name for this new Rochester-based, waste management operation is? Turd Herders.

Yes, he plans to clean up pet waste.

“I just wanted to work on my own and was looking for a low-cost, start-up,” he says. 

Turd Herders gives this one-man operation a chance to dig in and build from the ground up.

“I think Rochester is kind of an untapped market,” he said.

For social networkers who admire his intestinal fortitude, check out his Facebook page as well as his Twitter posts for the real poop.

Blog anniversary = Networking?

Time flies when you're blogging.

On Wednesday, Kiger's Notebook turns four. That means it is old enough now to really get into trouble. Heh.

The very first post of what is now up to a total of 3,378 posts went up on March 4, 2005.

I have not made plans for anything to acknowledge the day, but I thought maybe some sort of lunch gathering or maybe a Happy Hour on Wednesday might be nice.

Or I'd be willing to host a tour of the spacious Kiger's Notebook complex (Heh) as well as the Post-Bulletin for anybody that is interested. After the extensive tour, we could hang out with all of the media professionals 

Another option, we could skip a celebration as a silent memorial to all of the businesses that have been featured on the blog that have passed on to the Free Market afterlife.

Anyone have  favorite (or least favorite) post, typo, headline or whatever? If so, this is the time to share. Let me know and I'll it with the world.Or at least with the mob that reads this blog.

Any ideas? Feedback? Insults?

Thank you all for reading. This blog is not popular because of me. It is because of everyone out there who give it life and personality.

This is your community. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

TimberLodge Steakhouse building for sale

If you have $2.2 million, you could pick up the Rochester Timberlodge Steakhouse at 4144 West Frontage U.S. 52 N.W. At least that's the asking price on one online real estate ad.

Yeah, I recently wrote that TimberLodge is not closing and this does not change that.

Timberlodge owner Taher, Inc. leases the building from AEI Real Estate Fund XVII of St. Paul.

AEI lists the building as having more than 10 years left on the lease, which matches Taher's comments to me that they recently renewed their lease.

Spam + millions of Chinese?

Here's some from a piece about Austin's best-known pork product in the Shanhai-ist Chinese news Web site:

Spam that delicious (or disgusting, depending on who you ask) meat product, is soon to be available at a store near you. Previously found only in import stores like City Shop and Pines, the Chinese masses will now get their chance to taste test the original ham in a can.

Hormel is planning on introducing SPAM to China as a "premium" product and a "modern" way to have a quick meal. So how are they going to position themselves in a market already infiltrated by local lunchmeat?

"We did comparisons to similar products on the market in terms of the flavor and texture. We find that people think SPAM is pretty modern compared to local brands," says [SPAM's China Product Manager, Milano] Chen. "And the upside for this industry is that consumers are experiencing busier lifestyles and busy people will choose a convenient food like canned meats."

While the name "SPAM" does sound slightly more modern than "Canned Pork Luncheon Meat" (available at your local Alldays), whether it actually does taste better than Shanghai Maling's local option would require an actual Shanghaiist taste test. Not gonna happen.

In the next few days, Hormel will be unleashing a marketing blitz, including road shows that'll feature athletes wearing SPAM costumes jumping on trampolines. 

Buzz about possible coming IBM layoffs

What rumors are people hearing about Big Blue and possible layoffs this month?

Buzz is humming along on ibmemployees.com, Alliance@IBM and other places.

Some expect cuts to hit later this week, some say Jan. 29.

Companywide estimates of job cuts run as high as 16,000 in some places.

Here are a few varying unconfirmed perspectives floating around Internet:

Here are some postings from the Alliance@IBM:

Comment 1/03/08: We have a department of over 50 people. Many of the contractors were told on 12/31 that it was their last day. Things are falling into place.

Comment 1/02/08: DEEP CUTS EXPECTED AT BTV!!!! Jan 23 is the date. Ditoro cutting 100's of jobs. Very few spared. So Sad. Goal is to cut costs. BTV has very little work. Good luck to all.

Comment 1/02/08: Listen.. I work for the SEC and I can confirm the layoffs for Jan. 23 for at least IBM. I don't have clearance but I did manage to take a look at a document confirming this. IBM is not 100% sure; but the fact that we have already been notified of these cuts means there's a good chance the layoffs will go through. F.Y.I., I'm at a library computer.

Comment 1/02/08: rumors of mfg in Rochester, MN being sold to Geodis... time will tell!!?? -homerj-

Comment 12/27/08: IBM is laying off 400 jobs in its software division with 1 month to find another position; mainly marketing and admin positions. -Anonymous- 

Here's some from Christine Young of the Times Herald-Record:

An unofficial online employee Web site, IBMemployee.com, says massive layoffs are coming to Big Blue later this month.

While IBM spokesman Fred McNeese says the company "does not comment on rumors or speculation," there's plenty of both on the site.

"All divisions in IBM will be affected," says one entry, adding the majority of those cuts will be announced Jan. 23.

"Get all your ducks in a row," it continues. "Time is running out."

Several more posts say approximately 16,000 employees, mostly in the U.S., will be affected.

"I heard this from a second-line manager," says one employee. "Confidentiality agreements were signed in the upper ranks to keep this hush-hush, but nothing this big stays out of the light for long."

Over the past few weeks, multiple sources have told the Times Herald-Record that a major resource action is coming. The IBMemployee.com posts are significant in that they seem to confirm what the Record has been hearing — all centered around a mid- to late-January announcement.

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Still another writer said, "My manager is involved in the layoff planning in our division (part of the technology group). He told me the numbers in our division were going to be very large, a lot larger than what the other managers were expecting. He moved half of us onto projects with government funding commitments and thinks he can protect the people he has left, but he's not sure. Nobody wants to fearmonger, but the layoffs are coming."

Wanna buy a Golf Dome?

Remember the Golf Dome? 

It was the big bubble along Rochester's southwest Second Street that was deflated to make way for a new childcare facility.

Well, it was folded up and put away, while the store part of the business was moved by owner Paul Pehler to the Hillcrest Shopping Center.

Now the Dome has risen to the surface again like carbonation in my Mountain Dew. 

On an online ad site, this recently showed up:

100x40 yard inflatable dome structure - $25,000 

Ideal for multi purpose uses requiring a high clearance. $25,000 or best offer. Price includes inflation and heating units. This was formerly used for a sports dome. Please e-mail us or call with questions. 

Anyone have a big backyard and want to practice year-round.

Wired Mag. on Hardcore Computer

Wired Magazine just did a spread on Rochester's newest computer system - the Hardcore Computer desktop supercomputer.

Looking for a beefy gaming rig, and don't mind getting your hands a little wet? Hardcore Computer's Reactor might just be the 100-pound computational monolith for you.
Crafted from 2.5mm-thick aircraft aluminum and packed with powerful hardware, the Reactor is already a fairly striking and competitive machine. But there's a secret weapon sloshing around in that unassuming tank: four and a half gallons of cooling oil.

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There were four gigs of RAM in the configuration we tested with room to spare, if you're feeling power-hungry. In fact, most of the components in the Reactor can be upgraded from off-the-shelf parts, to take advantage of all the overclocking potential. And can you believe that no one had ever trademarked that radioactive symbol? The folks at Hardcore Computer couldn't either.

Mostly it was a centerfold of pretty pictures of the machinery. The national magazine spread could be a good boost for the guys at Hardcore.

What the father of System i/ AS/400 will do next

A while back I posted on here that the iSeries Network had reported that Rochester IBM's Frank Soltis - the maverick that was involved with the birth of the computer servers System/36, System/38, AS/4000, ect. and who wrote the fascinating book called "Fortress Rochester - was retiring after 45 Big Blue years.

Well, that's still true, but Search400.com - another site devoted to the descendant of the AS/400 - has added to that.

Soltis is indeed retiring from IBM, mainly because the merger of i and p eliminated any jobs that focused solely on the System i. But he’s not going away. He will continue teaching at the University of Minnesota, and said he wants to get more involved with user groups like Common.

In the interview, Soltis does express his displeasure with how the System i revenue has been reported since the merger (it makes it look bad). But overall he said he’s pleased with how his 45 years with Big Blue have gone, and he’s looking forward to staying involved.

It is good to hear that he will still be around. Soltis is the kind of guy that writes something like this:

“Within IBM, Rochester is rarely regarded as team player and is more often viewed as a competitor than an ally. We're physicaly isolated from the rest of IBM, located in a small community in southeastern Minnesota. Over the years, many of us have thoughtof ourselves as a separate computer company, even bragging that if we were not part of IBM, we'd be the world's second-largest computer company. Small wonder that IBM's attitude toward Rochester systems has not always been totally supportive."

From Fortress Rochester

Another Roch. closing - Just A Little Something

A Rochester quilting and knitting shop – Just A Little Something – is closing on Dec. 31.

This business is at 304 Sixth Street SW in a Victorian Gothic house.

However, it is not due to the economy, but to the owner's desire to step back and take life easier.

I have not talked to them yet, but here's some from the note on the shop's Web site:

Thank you to all my loyal customers for expressing their sadness that Just A Little Something is closing. Many have asked if my closing is due to the economy or financial reasons. That is not the reason. The decision to close was made before the stock market, bailout, etc. happened. The business has always been thriving and profitable. The closing is not due to any health concerns either. The main reason is that the business has been too much for me to run alone and build it to its full potential. I wanted to offer classes, develop an online store, make more wonderful kits, and be able to give all my customers my time. This is just not possible, so I want to slow my pace and enjoy life and my family.
Many of my customers have also been asking if anyone has bought my business and when our last day will be. Although the business has not been sold, our last business day will be December 31, 2008.

IBM cutting jobs...What about Roch.?

Word is drifting across the Internet like smoke from a smoldering campfire that IBM is in the midst of a "resource reduction action" that means layoffs estimated at 215 companywide.

IBM has only confirmed 38 layoffs in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Here's from a breaking news piece by the energetic Rick Smith of WRAL TechWire in N.C.:

 IBM is laying off a host of senior managers, including at least six vice presidents, in another round of 215 job cuts among its Systems and Technology Group.

An IBM spokesperson confirmed 38 of the people affected are based in the Triangle.

Unlike recent cutbacks involving contractors and so-called long-term supplemental workers who didn’t receive benefits as full-time employees, the cuts made this week include numerous veteran IBMers up to 68 years in age.
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“In RTP, we did announce a resource action for 38 people,” said IBM’s John Buscemi. He could not confirm the 215 figure. A document provided to WRAL.com noted the 215 positions affected across the STG group. Alliance@IBM, the union seeking to represent IBM workers, also was told 215 figure.

The STG works with IBM clients to provide services and support for new technologies and what IBM calls “niche offerings.”

Some of the jobs affected are being “off-shored,” and IBMers will be tasked with training their replacements.

“This is part of the rebalancing of our skills to balance our customer needs,” Buscemi said.

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According to the IBM document provided to WRAL.com, positions being eliminated include a “distinguished engineer” as well as numerous “directors” and “senior” specialists in a variety of areas.

Buscemi would not talk about what positions or business group were affected. “We don’t discuss business groups because of competitive reasons,” he said.