Planning for 2012
Ray Barrett, the new chairman will discuss plans for next year. ALL interested persons are welcome to participate. If you cannot attend the meeting, you are welcome to send suggestions for meetings to chair@consultantsnh.org. If you are interested in participation via SKYPE, please contact m.lowe@ieee.org prior to the meeting.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Location: Holiday Inn Select, 1655 North Central Expressway, Richardson, TX
(south of Campbell Road, west side of Central)

Time: Social/Networking6:15PM
Dinner: 6:30 pm

Program-Party! 6:30 pm.
Cover: Includes fabulous dinner buffet, salad, dessert and drink
Fees may change since Holiday Inn Select increased their rates:
$5 for IEEE CN Members, additional guest of CN member: $5 if you RSVP by the Friday before the meeting
$10 for IEEE Members
$20 NON IEEE Member
CN Membership: $30

What Engineers/Entrerpreneurs Need to Know about Taxes in 2012

Speaker: Jeff Pickering, CPA
Jeff Pickering delivered an insightful presentation, Top 10 Changes in 2011,in January 2011. We were able to ask questions about business specifics and learn what changes in the tax law impacted our business. He has been practicing in Plano, Texas since 1995. Clients include corporations andindividuals in all 50 states, Western Europe and India.

When & Where:

At this joint meeting with CCN, "Five Elements of Consulting Success" will be presented by James Chan, Ph.D. at the CynwydClub, 322 Trevor Lane, Bala Cynwyd, PA.

When & Where:

Worlds Apart: The Tools for Creating a Digital Movie
The world of digital animation has changed more with the advancement of technology and tools than any other story-telling medium, and this art form is still in its infancy. As computing power and sophisticated software gets less expensive, student-created computer animated films are giving Hollywood a run for its money.

Michael Huber will show how organization, teamwork, esprit de corps, the art of story and a drive for excellence were used by a team of 20 students to create a multi-million dollar look on a limited budget. It's a telling trend that could set the stage for animated film production from here on out.

Michael will screen the short film Worlds Apart, which has garnered 14 awards. He will also show how computer animation is a ripe area for the use of consultants.

Behind the Scenes of Worlds Apart is a short video about the team that created this film.

About the Speaker
Cogswell College Assistant Professor Michael Z. Huber is a computer graphics animator and effects supervisor. He is the product of an engineer father and an artist/actress mother, which seems only fitting since his work involves the marriage of art and technology.

Michael's interest in animation began while attending film school in San Francisco, where he studied stop motion animation, cinematography and film production. He eventually transferred to San Jose State Univ. where a new program called CADRE (Computers in Animation, Design, Research and Engineering) was one of the first places to study computer animation. He furthered his own education by investing in animation software called HASH, and continued to teach himself enough computer animation to start a freelance animation company called Gravity 3D.

Having been in the visual effects industry since 1994, Michael's freelance projects for commercials and videos eventually led to major motion picture and video game projects. He has worked on over 15 feature length films with directors including Wolfgang Peterson, Luc Besson, Ridley Scott, Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg.

An Overview of the 2008 Financial Crisis
(From the perspective of an electrical engineer on Wall Street)
Do you know what factors really caused the worst recession since the Great Depression? What are the prospects for the US economy in the near future? The speaker, Samir Padalkar, will take a quick look at some often-debated basics of the 2008 financial crisis including causes, financial products and the role of various players; banks, insurers, rating agencies, Fannie - Freddie and the Federal Reserve. Finally, he will compare the 2008 crisis with the Internet Bubble and offer some thoughts for the future.

Topics covered:
* Deconstructing ‘ Toxic’ assets- CDOs and derivatives and how they work, how they were priced,Monte-Carlo simulations, role of rating agencies and AIG , who bought them.
* Fannie and Freddie- subprime mortgages- and the mortgage crisis , credit crisis and credit crunch.
* The role of the Federal Reserve.
* Looking at the Internet Bubble in 2000- how this was different.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Samir Padalkar has over 20 years of experience building Real-Time decision systems, first in the chemical/aerospace industry and later in Real-Time trading systems such as those used in algorithmic trading. Most recently, he was CTO of Hold Brothers, a proprietary trading firm in NYC, where he built a real-time equities and derivatives trading platform.

Samir started his career with a B.Tech from IIT Madras and a PhD from Vanderbilt University. His research was patented and commercialized by the Osaka Gas Company of Japan. Later he joined Quant Trading as lead software developer and applied his Real-Time systems work to developing Fixed Income & Derivatives trading systems. In 1996 he lead the launch of “Sector”, one of the first off- the- shelf trading products on Wall Street, selling it to companies like Daiwa, GovPX, TD, ABN Amro, Lehman & Chase.

In 2002, Thomson Financial bought Quant and Samir went to lead their fixed income development team as Vice president of Fixed Income Development. The following year he moved to TradeWeb, to lead a development team launching online Mortgage Backed Securities trading. Samir lives in Summit, NJ with his wife and 2 kids, is an avid bicyclist, hiker & cricket lover and enjoys travelling to wine regions. He can be reached at samirpad@gmail.com, (908) 420-9022.

From January through October, Orcnet meets on the fourth Thursday (January 26, 2012) of each month. The no-host dinner usually starts at 6:00 PM, with business or presentation starting at 7:00 PM.

We usually have a combined November/December meeting on the FIRST Thursday in December, to avoid the holidays. We sometimes skip the August meeting during vacation time; check the presentation page for more information.

We meet at the Beaverton International House of Pancakes (IHOP) at 15935 SW Regatta Lane, Beaverton, OR , near the intersection of 158th and Walker, southwest corner next to McDonalds, across the street from Fred Meyer, restaurant phone 503-614-8485.

Microsoft Corp
201 Jones Road, 6th Floor MPR-A
Waltham, MA

“Being an Expert at Consulting, Not Just in Your Field”For many, consulting is mainly just a different payment scheme for continuing to apply a particular set of technical skills and knowledge. That’s not wrong; but too often unawareness and neglect of consulting’s other needed competencies can limit careers and some of consulting’s potentially greater value, rewards, and satisfaction.

Thinking like an employee, even though paid through Accounts Payable rather than Payroll, prevents becoming expert at the thinking like a business that is needed to keep positioning you for ongoing longer-term success. Moreover, a ‘hired hand’ worker bee mentality also means you probably won’t establish the appropriate kinds of expertise to be thought of as an advisor, which can be a major value-adding aspect of consulting.

In this interactive presentation, Robin Goldsmith explains why technical skills are necessary but not sufficient to prosper over time as a trusted and influential consultant; and Robin describes ways to develop, enhance, and apply the additional types of consulting expertise needed.

About the Speakers
Robin F. Goldsmith has been President of Go Pro Management, Inc. consultancy since 1982.  He works directly with and trains professionals in business engineering, requirements analysis, software acquisition, project management, quality and testing.

Previously he was a developer, systems programmer/DBA/QA, and project leader with the City of Cleveland, leading financial institutions, and a “Big 4” consulting firm.

Author of numerous articles and the recent book Discovering REAL Business Requirements for Software Project Success, and a frequent speaker at leading professional conferences, he was formerly International Vice President of the Association for Systems Management and Executive Editor of the Journal of Systems Manageme.

He was Founding Chairman of the New England Center for Organizational Effectiveness.  He belongs to the Boston SPIN and served on the SEPG’95 Planning and Program Committees.

Mr. Goldsmith Chaired BOSCON 2000 and 2001, ASQ Boston Section’s Annual Quality Conferences, and is a member of the ASQ Software Division Methods Committee.

He holds the following degrees:  Kenyon College, A.B. with Honors in Psychology; Pennsylvania State University, M.S. in Psychology; Suffolk University, J.D.; Boston University, LL.M. in Tax Law.  Mr. Goldsmith is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and licensed to practice law in Massachusetts.

PLEASE NOTE:
No charge for Consultants Network members or non-members. The meeting is open to the public and there is a $5 entrance fee.  Casual dress.

The Consultants Network meeting starts at 6:30 PM.  The meeting location is at Microsoft Corp, 201 Jones Road, 6th Floor MPR-A, Waltham, MA. From Route 128 take Exit 26 (Route 20 East or Weston Street).   Turn left onto Stow Street and then left again onto Route 117 or Main Street.  Drive back over route 128, and Jones Road is the second left.

Location: Holiday Inn Select, 1655 North Central Expressway, Richardson, TX
(south of Campbell Road, west side of Central)

Recession Proof Yourself by Elizabeth Lions