Contributor

Nuclear Energy – The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

“In a vast, seven-story hole in the ground 43 miles west of Pittsburgh, massive sections of steel plate are being welded together to form gigantic cylinders. Heavy pipes for carrying superhot radioactive water are being run between the cylinders. Thousands of cubic yards of concrete are being poured...
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CubeLogic Returns as an Independent Company

Four years after they were acquired by OpenLink, CubeLogic has returned to the market as an independent entity.  In speaking with OpenLink senior management about the divestment of CubeLogic, they indicated they made the move in order to focus more on their flagship products – which they believe...
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Raising the Next Generation of Commodity Traders

It was the early ‘70s and I was done with the “kids games” of my youth.  Chutes & Ladders, Sorry, and a colorful deck of Go-Fish cards sat gathering dust on the shelf while I fed my infatuation with grown-up board games such as Monopoly and Clue. Then...
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The Technologically Fabulous and Economically Challenged World of Rare Earth Metals

Perspective and point of reference is critical when making conversation.   For example, I recently picked up a pair of ultralight ear bud speakers at an airport kiosk and casually remarked to a colleague travelling with me, “What would we do without rare earth metal?”.    To which he responded,...
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Gary Craze joins the CTRMCenter Blog

We’re pleased to announce that longtime CTRM industry veteran, Gary Craze, has joined the CTRMCenter blog as a contributor.  Now, in addition to insights, news and opinion from Commodity Technology Advisory analysts, Dr. Gary Vasey and Patrick Reames, readers of this blog will have the opportunity to enjoy...
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Catching up with capSpire

Last week, I visited with Lance Laubach, CEO of capSpire, over a cup of coffee to catch-up on recent developments with his company and, more generally, get his views on the current state of the market for CTRM systems and services.  In summary, his take on the market...
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Time is short – Please participate in our latest market research effort

We’re seeking your participation in a new research effort by Commodity Technology Advisory. This new project looks at the impacts and implications of low priced energy commodities as they relate to ETRM system use, utility and value. Though oil prices have recently risen off their 13 year low...
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CTRM Zombies

With the market for ETRM/CTRM software now almost 25 years old, I find it interesting to look back at the litany of vendors and products that have succeeded, disappeared or have simply hung around over that time. While the few earliest solutions that were available in what has...
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Oil Traders Panic…not because of prices, but because Yahoo Messenger is going away

Yahoo announced last month that they’re ending support of their legacy versions of their IM product, Yahoo Instant Messenger, and after August 5 will only support their web-based version. Unfortunately, for global oil traders who have for almost 2 decades used Yahoo IM as one their two default...
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A reminder – Please participate in our latest survey!

We’re seeking your participation in a new research effort by Commodity Technology Advisory. This new project looks at the impacts and implications of low priced energy commodities as they relate to ETRM system use and value. Though energy prices have recently risen off their 13 year low set...
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