Timeline
Stray
We shipped our vehicle from Melbourne to Valparaiso and traveled extensively in South America thru Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.
We then shipped our vehicle from Montevideo to Rotterdam, completed some much needed maintenance, and headed east thru Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia, Russia to Mongolia, and back again.
Covid-19 border closures caught up with us in Poland. We caught a flight home and wok up in the Sheraton in Sydney on April Fools Day for 2 weeks quarantine.
2020
2019
2018
2017
Intelligence Engineering
I finally discovered what I want to be when I grow up.
I am going to be an Intelligence Engineer.
The two years of Study in 2005-06 unearthed a deep passion for Engineering Intelligence and suggested some avenues to explore.
There are scores of intellectual giants who have worked on this task and their contributions are both daunting and inadequate. There is an infitesimal chance that I can make a worthwhile contribution, and I probably will not live long enough anyway, but I find the prospect intoxicating none-the-less.
Signposts.
When one goes digging for gold it makes little sense to dig where every-body else is digging because the competition will be intense and the pickings tiny. Neither does it make sense to dig in some random location because the odds will be long. But dig one must.
When I surveyed the field of Artificial Intelligence I was impressed by the ingenuity in the field. At the same time, it appeared to be far to rigid to underpin "real world" intelligence. Search and reasoning play dominant roles in many of the AI techniques but neither appeared promising to me.
I spent rather more time surveying the field of Cognitive Neuroscience. I was stunned by the complexity that abounds at every level in a brain. Evolutionary Neuroscience served only to deepened my realisation that a brain (nay a whole organism) is not a modular device but a intricate conglomeration of "tricks" that just happened to be successful at the time, in Darwin's evolutionary game. There was also another important realisation - the development of a normal brain, in an infant, is profoundly dependent on the information available from the environment during development, rather than just the DNA "blueprint" provided by the parents.
Clearly species that developed brains gained a significant survival advantage. I think, that this initial advantage was the ability to exploit time. The ability to predict the future in terms of resources and dangers, and to act pre-emptively.
It seems to me that traditional Engineering approaches are inadequate for the task and that Self-organising systems will need to be harnessed.
Enough of my dismissive, arrogant and unlikely dreams. To work.......
Progress
Check out my Library because that is about all I have to show for my efforts so far.
2016
Roles
Father
Scholar
Director Brown Brothers
Web Developer
Achievements
Launched qwikgame.org
Major Activities
Develop qwikgame.org
Training
Squash with David Clegg
Influential reading
Utopia or Bust - Kunkel - Verso
The Boy Who Could Change the World - Swartz - The New Press
Inventing the Future - Williams - Verso
The Wikileaks Files - Assange - Verso
Galileo's Daughter - Sobel - Penguin Books.
Private Island - Meek - Verso
The Crazy Years - Spider - Banbella Books
Marx on Money - de Brunhoff - Verso
Value: The Representation of Labour in Capitalism - Elson -Verso
The Road to Serfdom - Hayek - University of Chicago Press
Free to Choose - Friedman, Friedman - Pelican Books
2015
Roles
Father
Scholar
Director Brown Brothers
Developer
Achievements
Major Activities
Intelligence Engineering
Gargoyle Development
Training
Influential reading
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
Roles
Father
Scholar
Achievements
Major Activities
Lived in Wuyishan, Fujian, China
Training
16th International Summer School in Cognitive Science at the New Bulgarian University, Sofia.
Influential reading
The Analogical Mind. - Gentner, Holyoak, Kokinov - The MIT Press
The God Delusion - Dawkins - Bantam Press
2008
Roles
Father
Scholar
Achievements
Major Activities
Intelligence Engineering with a focus on Self Organising Systems, Mathematics and Analogy. Commenced work on a first attempt to grow an intelligent device on a serial computer.
Lived in Wuyishan, Fujian, China
Training
Influential reading
Complexity and Information (Lezioni Lincee) - Traub & Werschulz - Cambridge University Press
The Glass Bead Game - Hesse - Bantam Books
Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern - Hofstadter - Basic Books
Design Patterns. - Gamma, Helm, Johnson, Vlissides - Addison-Wesley
Computers and Intractability. - Garey & Johnson - W.H.Freeman and Company
The Dreams of Reason. - Pagels - Bantam Books
Mathematics Today - Steen - Vintage Books
Self-organisation and Evolution of Social Systems - Hemelrijk - Oxford University Press
Attitudes Chaos & the Connectionist Mind - Eiser - Blackwell
Sleep and Brain Plasticity - Maquet, Smith & Stickgold - Oxford University Press.
How the Immune System Works - Sompayrac - Blackwell Publishing
The Self-Made Tapestry - Pattern Formation in Nature - Ball - Oxford University Press
The Science of Fractal Images - Barnsley, Devaney, Mandelbrot, Peitgen, Saupe & Voss - Springer-Verlag
Self-organisation and Evolution of Social Systems - Hemelrijk - Cambridge
The Essence of Chaos - Lorenz - University of Washington Press.
Computers and Intractability - Garey & Johnson - W.H.Freeman and Company
Chaotic Evolution and Strange Attractors (Lezioni Lincee) - Ruelle - Cambridge University Press
Mathematics Today - Steen - Vintage Books
2007
Roles
Father
Scholar
Achievements
I finally discovered what I wanted to be when I grew up - an Intelligence Engineer.
Standing at the very start of my lifes work was quite an experience. The motivation that I felt was frightening. There are scores of intellectual giants who have worked on this task and their contributions were both daunting and inadequate. The likelyhood of making a contribution of my own was infintesimal. But the prospect was intoxicating none-the-less. There was not a moment to loose. See Intelligence Engineering.
Developed a fast online epsilion machine algorythm.
Graduated from the AICD Company Directors Course
Major Activities
Explored the CSSR algorithm and opportunities for improvement.
Commenced an exploration of the Self-Organising Systems literature
Lived in New Zealand (6 months)
Moved to Wuyishan, Fujian, China.
Training
AICD Company Directors Course
Influential reading
Investigations - Stuart Kauffman - Oxford University Press - ISBN:0-19-512105-8
The Extended Phenotype - Richard Dawkins - Oxford University Press.
Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy - Evolution and Adaption. - Butler,A,B. & Hodos,W. - Wiley
Elements of Information Theory. - Cover,T.M. & Thomas,J.A. - Wiley Publications.
The Emotion Machine. - Minsky,M. - Simon & Schuster.
What is Life? - Schrodinger,E., D. - Cambridge University Press
Philosophical Investigations. - Wittgenstein,L. - Blackwell.
Engineering Self-Organising Systems 2005. - Brueckner,S. & Serugendo,G. & Hales,D. (eds) - Springer.
Engineering Self-Organising Systems 2006. - Brueckner,S. & Serugendo,G. & Hales,D. Franco Zambonelli,F. (eds) - Internet
Foundations of Genetic Programming. - Langdon,W. & Poli,R. - Springer.
The Architecture of Complexity. - Simon,H,A. - Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
Seven Pillars of Wisdom. - Lawrence,T.E. - Anchor Books
Strategy. - Liddell,H. - Penguin Books
What We Believe but Cannot Prove - Brockman,J. - Harper Perennial.
Introduction to Graph Theory. - Chartrand,G. - Dover Publications
Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel. - Goldstein,R. - W. W. Norton & Company
Study
Key Learnings
How much I enjoyed the intellectual challenge of academic pursuits.
That Strategy and Cognitive Science were two very robust interests.
That I wanted to be an Intelligence Engineer when I grew up.
Summary
Beginnings...
The study began with some broad reading along a couple of lines of interest which turned out to be Cognitive Science, Game Theory and Strategy. Cognitive Science seeks to understand the nature of the human mind and includes the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Education. Game Theory studies decisions that are made in an environment where rational, intelligent players interact. Strategy is the art of winning real world competitions with superior intelligence, insight, positioning, deception and speed.
Purpose.
There was a deliberate objective to innovate in each of these areas based on insights from current scientific knowledge. The interest in Cognitive Science was keenly focused on applications in Artificial Intelligence. The study of Game Theory related to crafting intelligent rules for human groups that reduced the need for policing, judicial and punishment systems. The fascination with Strategy came from the satisfaction of applying a limited resource in an intelligent way to achieve a disproportionate outcome.
Progress.
As the studies progressed, the impressive developments in Artificial Intelligence and Game theory appeared increasingly limited and rigid in the face of the daunting complexity in Cognitive Science and the dynamics of Strategy. Studies of the brain revealed ever more evolved, integrated detail at every level. There became apparent a profound interdependence between the role of DNA and that of the environment in the development and functioning of a brain. It became inconceivable that Artificial intelligence might be developed with traditional design techniques. However, new techniques, drawn from the evolutionary processes that developed brains, might be harnessed to "grow" rather than design Artificial Intelligence. This approach initiated a new area of study into Self Organising Systems. The field of Self Organising Systems investigates systems which become increasingly more complex when left to themselves.
The study continued along these lines for nearly two years.
2006
Roles
Father
Scholar
Brown Brothers Board Associate Director
Achievements
See Study Break
Major Activities
See Study Break
Training
Influential reading
The Selfish Gene - Dawkins - Oxford University Press.
Evolving Brains - Allman - W. H. Freeman.
The Geography of Thought : How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why - Nisbett - Free Press - ISBN:0743216466
Consciousness Explained - Dennett - Back Bay Books - ISBN: 0316180661
What We Believe but Cannot Prove : Today's Leading Thinkers on Science in the Age of Certainty - Brockman - Harper Perennial - ISBN: 0060841818
Parallel Distributed Processing. Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition. Volume 1: Foundations - Rumelhart and McClelland - The MIT Press - ISBN:0-262-13218-4
Descartes' Error : Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain - Damasio - Harper Perennial - ISBN: 0380726475
An Adaptive Neural Network - the cerebral cortex - Burnod - Prentice Hall - ISBN: 0-13-019464-6
Pathways of the Brain: The Neurocognitive Basis of Language - Sydney Lamb - John Benjamins Publishing Co - ISBN:1556198884
Strategy - Liddell - Penguin Books - ISBN:0452010713
Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy : How Music Captures Our Imagination - Jourdain - Harper Paperbacks - ISBN:038078209X
In Search of Memory - Kandel - W. W. Norton & Company - ISBN:0-393-05863-8
High-Yield Neuroanatomy - Fix - Lippincott Williams & Williams - ISBN:0-7817-5899-8
Biophysics of Computation - Kosh - Oxford University Press - ISBN:0-19-518199-9
The Computational Brain - Churchland and Sejnowski - The MIT Press - ISBN:0-262-53120-8
2005
Roles
Father
Scholar
Brown Brothers CIO (part year)
Brown Brothers Board Associate Director
International Oracle User Council (IOUC) - Vice Chairperson
Asia Pacific Oracle User Council (APOUC) - Vice Chairperson
Quest A&NZ User Group - International Representative
Achievements
See Study Break
Constructed an intuitive family tree explorer using HTML, CSS and JavaScript that draws data directly from a Gedcom file. (see example)
Major Activities
Commenced a language training course in Chinese Mandarin
See Study Break
Training
12th International Conference on Thinking, Melbourne, Australia. Speakers such as Paul Davis, Edward de Bono, Susan Greenfield, Sunetra Gupta, Molly Harris Olson, Carla Rinaldi, Peter Senge, Jan Van Mol, Robyn Williams, Fiona Wood.
Influential reading
Memory and Brain - Larry R. Squire - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-504208-5
Philosophy of Mind - David Chalmers - Oxford University Press - ISBN0-190514581-X
Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel - Rebecca Goldstein - W. W. Norton & Company - ISBN: 0393051692
The Birth Of The Mind: How A Tiny Number of Genes Creates the Complexities of Human Thought - Gary F. Marcus - Basic Books - ISBN: 0465044069
Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought - Pascal Boyer - Basic Books - ISBN 0465006965
Relevance: Communication and Cognition - Dan Sperber, Deirdre Wilson - Blackwell Publishers - ISBN 0631198784
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (2nd Edition) - Stuart J. Russell, Peter Norvig - Prentice Hall - ISBN 0137903952
Usage-Based Models of Language - Michael Barlow, Suzanne Kemmer - Center for the Study of Language and Inf - ISBN: 1575862204
Working Brain: An Introduction to Neuropsychology - Aleksandr Romanovich Luria - Basic Books - ISBN: 046509208X
Six Thinking Hats - Edward de Bono - Back Bay Books - ISBN: 0316178314
The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli, Daniel Donno - Bantam Classics - ISBN: 0553212788
Brown Brothers
Key Learnings
The importance of Brand and its role in business
Financial P&L, Balance Sheet, key ratios etc
The role of the Board and Business Strategy
Leadership and Strategy in a Volunteer Organisation (Quest)
Information Technology Strategy, Leadership and Implementation
Leadership, Culture, Management and Structure in a Family Business
Summary
John was the first of the 4th generation to join the family business. He has had broad exposure to the business at all levels.
Brown Brothers is a highly successful and professional family business operating in rural Australia. At the core of the organisation is a long term commitment to developing the brand, high quality expectations "across the board" and a deep commitment to the organisations culture. The wine industry is an unexpectedly complex business spanning primary, secondary and tertiary industries delivering a subjective product in a highly competitive industry on a global stage.
Vision: To be the best family wine company in the World.
Mission:Brown Brothers is committed to being a family owned, profitable wine company, leading the industry through innovation in grape growing, wine-making and the marketing of a premium brand that exceeds our customers’ expectations.
We care actively for the environment, the community and our people.
A family member working at Brown Brothers must wear a number of different "hats".
Employment
First and foremost, John was employed by Brown Brothers. He held many roles spanning Marketing, Winery, Finance, and most influentially, Information Technology. The clarity and success of the Information Technology strategy and implementation placed Brown Brothers in an enviable position. The Information Technology strategy was built around a comprehensive understanding of the business and a commitment to partnership with excellent Information Technology vendors. The successful implementation was a result of a sound understanding of change management, insightful leadership and focus.
Public Relations
The Brown Brothers brand is inextricably linked to the Brown Family. As such, any member of the family has a marketing role which involves interacting with consumers, retailers, wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurateurs, importers and the media. This responsibility demands a thorough knowledge of the brand, the business, the wine industry and well developed social, presentation and media interaction skills.
Family
The Brown family is integrity involved in the business at all levels; shareholding, Board, Management, employee, consumer. A family member employed at Brown Brothers has the opportunity to participate at many levels. However this opportunity carries with it a considerable responsibility to nurture the culture and respect the organisation's management hierarchy.
Certainly John was employed in many areas of the business and reported to many Managers at various positions in the hierarchy. The pinnacle role as CIO, reporting to the General Manager participated on the Senior Management team along with Finance, Marketing, Human Resources and Operations. In addition, John was invited to attend Board meetings in his third year. This provided a perspective open to few employees in business - the opportunity to learn and question the Strategy, Governance, Funding and Risk Management of the Business at the highest level.
2004
Roles
Brown Brothers CIO
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Quest International User Group - Asia Pacific Liason Director
Quest A&NZ User Group - Secretary
Father
Achievements
Delivered a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan for Brown Brothers business systems.
Major Activities
Brown Brothers
In 2004, a fully integrated Point of Sale system was implemented for Cellar Door and the Epicurean Center using IBM and ???
An advanced business planning system was constructed to drastically reduce both the time required to prepare detailed plans and the time required for a marketing demand signal to influence grape supply decisions. This new system replaced a comprehensive, but clumsy, planning system built with spreadsheets. Planning activity occurring across multiple time-frames (12 weeks by week, 12 months by month, 5 years by year) was collapsed into a single system. The technologies utilised were Cognos and the ERP system.
In addition, a major platform upgrade from Windows 2000 to Windows 2003 was commenced.
Quest
Training
Quest Global Conference - Quest International Users Group - Denver USA.
Quest A&NZ Conference - Quet A&NZ - Melbourne
Influential reading
The Essence of Chaos - Edward N. Lorenz - University of Washington Press - ISBN 0-295-97514-8
The Emperor's New Mind - Roger Penrose - Vintage - ISBN 0-09-977170-5
Shadows of the Mind - Roger Penrose - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-510646-6
Mother Nature's Two Laws: Ringmasters for Circus Earth - A.D.Kirwan, Jr - worldscientific - ISBN 981-02-4314-6
Genius Richard Feynman and modern Physics - James Gleick - Abacus - ISBN 0-349-10470-0
2003
Roles
Brown Brothers CIO
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Quest International J.D.Edwards User Group - Asia Pacific Liason Director
Quest A&NZ J.D.Edwards User Group - Secretary
Father
Achievements
Created the "Hot Topics" concept to facilitate User2User interaction at Quest conferences.
Successfully initiated the Quest Asia J.D.Edwards User Group - Singapore.
Successfully coordinated the 2003 Quest Asia J.D.Edwards User Group Conference in Singapore.
Presented at the 2003 Quest Asia J.D.Edwards User Group Conference - Topics???
Major Activities
Brown Brothers
In 2003, the RIM Blackberry devices were deployed and Brown Brothers was the second in the Wine Industry to be "EAN.Net ready". EAN.Net is an online catalog for retail product data syncronisation. The utilisation of Cognos PowerPlay Web was further extended, most particularly into monitoring data integrity within the ERP system, an automatic workflow to resolve integrity issues and a reporting/trending facility.
Quest
Training
Media Training - Mediamanoeuveres.
Quest Asia Conference - Quest Asia - Singapore
Influential reading
The Art of War - Sun Tzu - Oxford Paperbacks - ISBN 0-19-501476-6
Book of Five Rings - Stephen f. Kaufman - Tuttle Publishing- ISBN 0-8048-3020-7
Hyper-Competition - Richard A. D'Averni - The Free Press - ISBN 0-02-906938-6
The Clash of the Fundamentalists - Tariq Ali - Verso - ISBN 1-85984-679-3
The Worlds Religions - Ninian Smart - Cambridge Press - ISBN 0 521 63748 1
Contempory Political Philosophy - Will Kimlicka - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-878274-8
The Improbable Machine - Jeremy campbell - Simon & Schuster - ISBN 0-671-72509-2
The Greek Philosophers - Rex Warner - New American Library - Library of Congress 58-12836
2002
Roles
Brown Brothers CIO
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Quest International J.D.Edwards User Group - Asia Pacific Liason Director
Quest A&NZ J.D.Edwards User Group - Secretary
Father
Achievements
Successfully coordinated 2002 Quest Asia Conference in Bankok
Hosted 20 advanced J.D.Edwards One World Users at Brown Brothers for a 2 day conference.
Major Activities
Brown Brothers
In 2002, a Wide Area Network (WAN) was constructed from Milawa out to four State Sales offices to carry both Data traffic (Citrix) and voice (VoIP). The VoIP was implemented with IBM services and a compination of IBM, Cisco and PSL I.T.
The Cognos PowerPlay Web implementation was further extended, most particularly into providing consolidated distribution data to the Sales Team. Previously unavailable Brown Brothers Sales data was sourced from multiple wholesalers, cleansed and consolidated into a single view of the Retail customer for the first time.
In addition, a major platform upgrade from Windows NT to Windows 2000 was completed.
Quest
Training
Business Strategies in a Hostile World - TEC Jerry Goldress - Melbourne.
Influential reading
Warfighting, The US Marine Corps book of Strategy - Currency Doubleday - ISBN 0-385-47834-8
Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela - Abacus - ISBN0-349-10653-3
Living the Dream, The Story of Victor Smorgan - Rod Meyer - New Holland - ISBN 1-86436-684-2
2001
Roles
Brown Brothers CIO
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Quest A&NZ J.D.Edwards User Group - Conference Director
Father
Achievements
Successful 2001 Quest A&NZ Conference as Conference Director
Presented at 2001 Quest A&NZ Conference - topic???
Major Activities
In 2000, the first One World upgrade was completed with relatively minimal effort as planned and the implementation was extended in the Manufacturing (packaging) area. In addition, secure Remote access was provided into the Milawa based systems via the Internet using Citrix technologies. The utilisation of Cognos Powerplay Web was extended further into Sales and Manufacturing data.
Training
Influential Reading
Good to Great - Jim Collins - HarperCollins Publishers - ISBN: 0-06-662099-6
2000
Roles
Brown Brothers IT Manager
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Quest A&NZ J.D.Edwards User Group - Conference Director
Father
Achievements
Completed bulding Family Home
Successfully implemented Cognos PowerPlay Web for Sales Reporting and Analysis.
Major Activities
Training
The Wine Executive Program - Monash Mt Eliza Business School - Aug 2000.
The CIO (R)evolution - AGSM Australian Graduate School of Management
influential reading
The Multidimensional Manager - Richard Connelly PhD, Robin McNeill and Roland Mosimann - Cognos
1999
Roles
Brown Brothers IT Manager
Brown Brothers Project Manager for J.D.Edwards One World implementation
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Father
Achievements
Fathered another son - Christopher Martin Brown
Implemented J.D.Edwards One World ERP system.
Major Activities
Training
1998
Roles
Brown Brothers IT Manager
Brown Brothers Project Leader - Leap
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Father
Achievements
Installed a well architected core IT infrastructure at Brown Brothers
Successfully lead a multidisciplinary strategy team at Brown Brothers.
Major Activities
1998 saw the implementation of a fully redundant TCP/IP 100MB/s Cisco based network at the Milawa site. The physical wiring extended to 6 buildings and included a fireproof data center with UPS and backup facilities. Approx 80 fully secured and standardised desktop based on Microsoft Windows NT, Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer and Acrobat Reader were deployed. The initial network services were File/Print share and a comprehensive implementation of Microsoft Exchange. All were delivered on time and on budget
An external email feed and WWW browsing were added later in the year.
The "Leap" Project ran for the duration of 1999 with the objective of establishing the impact the Information Technology was likely to have on Brown Brothers' business environment and the opportunities that Information Technology presented. John A Brown lead a team of the "best and brightest" from Brown Brothers including one person each from Finance, Operations and Marketing. The first phase was an intense period of information gathering from formal training, Industry peers, Customers, Technology Vendors and Technology implementers. It culminated in the development of an "Environment Document" and strategy. The second phase saw the selection, negotiation and contract development for the implementation of and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from a field of 11 contenders.
Training
Performance Management - Australian Institute of Management
Influential reading
Strategic Thinking for Information Technology - Bernard H. Boar - Wiley Computer Publishing - ISBN 0-471-15881-X
New Work Habits forr a Rapidly Changing World - Price Pritchett - Pritchett & Associates
1997
Roles
Brown Brothers Fortified Winemaker
Brown Brothers Business Planning Assistant
Brown Brothers Board invitee
Father
Achievements
Fathered a son - John Yeo Brown
Trophy at Rutherglen Show for the best 1-2 year old Vintage Port.
Major Activities
Training
Computers in Manufacturing - ICM International Communications for Management
Influential Reading
The Dilbert Principal - Scott Adams - Harper Business - ISBN 0-88730-858-9
1996
Roles
Brown Brothers Marketing Projects Officer
Wangaratta Ski Club - role
Achievements
Major Activities
Training
1995
Roles
Brown Brothers Marketing Projects Officer
Achievements
Married Anneshka Louise Hutton
Major Activities
Training
Influential reading
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing - Al Ries and Jack Trout - Harper Collins Publishers - ISBN 0-00-638345-9
Maverick : The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace - Ricardo Semler - Warner Books - ISBN: 0446670553
BHP Petroleum
Key Learnings
Business Writing
Internal Customer Focus
Project Management
Logistics
The plight of a branch office
Summary
John was employed in the BHP graduate program. The first four years of employment were based in Darwin working primariliy in offshore operations in the Timor Sea. The operations included drilling exploration wells, downhole completions and oil production on the innovative Jabiru, Challis and Skua production facilities. The fifth year of employment was based in Melbourne in a design team of ten personnel evaluating the commercial feasability of a large gas discovery offshore of W.A.
BHP Petroleum is involved in oil exploration and production in numerous locations around the world.
1994
Roles
BHP Petroleum - Completions Engineer - Darwin
Achievements
Major Activities
In 1991-93 John worked in the Well Services Group. This small group was responsible for testing oil and gas discoveries, installation of equipment in production wells and the maintenance of the 'down hole' and subsea production equipment throughout the life of the well. Onshore, this involved immediate response to offshore problems, operations planning, logistics, project engineering, equipment evaluation and preparation. Offshore duties included project coordination, equipment testing, 'trouble shooting', safety issues, quality control and contractor supervision.
In particular, John's experience covered:
Leading offshore completion, workover and well test operations.
Open hole, production and corrosion logging
Wireline installations and fishing
Coiled tubing wash and fishing
Production testing
Subsea equipment installation and removal
13Cr completion equipment installation and removal
Well test equipment and operation
Detailed programming and reporting for completion and well testing operations
Completion equipment design, preparation and quality control
Installation of corrosion and scale inhibition equipment.
Training
Influential reading
In Search of the Big Bang - John Gribbin - Billing & Sons - ISBN 0-434-30590-1
Bridges to Infinity - Michael Guillen - Rider - ISBD 0-09-155321-0
The Relativity of Wrong - Isaac Asimov - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-282632-8
The Roving Mind - Isaac Asimov - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-286077-1
1993
Roles
Achievements
Major Activities
Training
Influential Reading
1992
Roles
Achievements
Major Activities
Training
Influential Reading
1991
Roles
BHP Petroleum - Completions Engineer - Darwin
Achievements
Major Activities
In 1991-93 John worked in the Well Services Group. This small group was responsible for testing oil and gas discoveries, installation of equipment in production wells and the maintenance of the 'down hole' and subsea production equipment throughout the life of the well. Onshore, this involved immediate response to offshore problems, operations planning, logistics, project engineering, equipment evaluation and preparation. Offshore duties included project coordination, equipment testing, 'trouble shooting', safety issues, quality control and contractor supervision.
In particular, John's experience covered:
Leading offshore completion, workover and well test operations.
Open hole, production and corrosion logging
Wireline installations and fishing
Coiled tubing wash and fishing
Production testing
Subsea equipment installation and removal
13Cr completion equipment installation and removal
Well test equipment and operation
Detailed programming and reporting for completion and well testing operations
Completion equipment design, preparation and quality control
Installation of corrosion and scale inhibition equipment.
Training
Influential reading
In Search of the Big Bang - John Gribbin - Billing & Sons - ISBN 0-434-30590-1
Bridges to Infinity - Michael Guillen - Rider - ISBD 0-09-155321-0
The Relativity of Wrong - Isaac Asimov - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-282632-8
The Roving Mind - Isaac Asimov - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-286077-1
1990
Roles
BHP Petroleum - Graduate Drilling Engineer - Darwin
Achievements
Major Activities
In 1990 John worked in the Drilling department providing well site engineering support to the three drilling rigs in operation at that time. This involved 'hands on' day to day experience in logistics, equipment preparation, inspection and maintenance, contractor supervision, safety, progress monitoring and reporting. Other duties included process improvement projects, drilling calculations, well surveying, equipment evaluation, and 'trouble shooting'.
Training
Influential reading
A brief History of Time - Stephen W Hawking - Bantam Books - ISBM 0-553-40165-3
The Improbable Machine - Jeremy campbell - Simon & Schuster - ISBN 0-671-72509-2
Chaos - James Gleick - Cardinal - ISBN 0-7474-0413-5
I Am Right-You Are Wrong: From This to the New Renaissance : From Rock Logic to Water Logic - Edward de Bono - Penguin Books - ISBN: 0140126783
Memory and Brain - Larry R. Squire - Oxford University Press - ISBN 0-19-504208-5
The Emperor's New Mind - Roger Penrose - Vintage - ISBN 0-09-977170-5
Genethics - David Suzuki & Peter Knudtson - Allen & Unwin Australia - ISBN 0-04-442119-2
Monash Mechanical Engineering
Key Learnings
Academic teamwork
Research
Structured thought
Summary
John A Brown graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering (honors) from Monash in 1989. The key areas of interest were Design, Computer Modelling and the functional boundary between Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.
1989
Forth Year University.
Dynamics in Mechanical Engineering - Distinction
Project and Engineering Practices (A) - Distinction
Project and Engineering Practices (B) - Distinction
Computer Integrated Manufacturing - Credit
Control Systems - Credit
Heat Transfer - Credit
Industrial Noise - Credit
Manufacturing Methods - Credit
Organisation and Management - Credit
Business Law - Pass
1988
Third Year University
Heat Transfer - High Distinction
Mechanisms - Distinction
Applied Ecology - Credit
Computers & Micro Processors - Credit
Engineering Practices - Credit
Fluid Mechanics - Credit
Mechanics and Deformation of solids - Credit
Systems & Control - Credit
Energy Conversion - Pass
Mathematics - Pass
Mechanical Vibrations - Pass
Technology & Society - Pass
Vacation Work
Demesne Computing, Victoria.
Data gathered in the main wind tunnel at Monash University was difficult to screen quickly for spurious data. Demesne Computing was contracted to provide a real time graphical interface for the wind tunnel. John completed the project which involved graphics programming on the 'Apollo' work station providing the display, and extensive two way data transfer with the independent computer collecting the data.
After Hours
Glen Davis, World Land Speed Record Attempt.
Glen Davis was preparing to make an attempt at the world land speed record for wheel driven vehicles. His design centred around two Rolls Royce V12 Merlin engines. A custom transfer case to couple the two engines and route the power to all four wheels was required. John was employed to assist in the design of the transfer case.
1987
Second year University
Engineering Practices & Design - High Distinction
Applied Mechanics - Distinction
Computer Science - Distinction
Philosophy - Credit
Electrical Engineering - Pass
Fluid Mechanics - Pass
Materials Science - Pass
Mathematical Method - Pass
Stress Analysis - Pass
Thermodynamics - Pass
Vacation Work
Agriculture & General, Griffith, NSW.
A&G were involved in the design and manufacture of customised equipment for the food industry. I was involved in preparation and design of customer and shop (technical) drawings of various tanks, production layouts and general winery equipment. Also time was spent in the field assisting in the manufacture of 285,000 litre tanks on site. A period was also spent in the machine shop operating lathes and milling machines.
Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyards, Victoria.
The initial development layout drawings were completed for an entire self contained winery, capable of processing 500 tonnes of fruit per vintage. The basic steel structure, drainage, walkways, machinery placement, waste disposal, fruit receipt and cool store structures were all included in this project. The project involved extensive consultation and development with established wine makers and cellar hands who would be involved in its operation. The completed winery has been an enormous success.
1986
Academic
First year University
Chemistry - Pass
Engineering - Pass
Mathematical Methods - Pass
Physics - Pass
But heck - the parties were fabulous!
Secondary Education
Key Learnings
Self Sufficiency
Teamwork
Independence
Disipline
Summary
John completed the final four years of Secondary Education as a border at Scotch College in Melbourne, completing the Higher School Certificate in 1985.
English - C
Physics - A
Chemistry - B
Pure Mathematics - C
Applied Mathematics - C
Other activities included Army Cadets, Squash (captain), gymnastics and cycling.
John completed the first two years of Secondary Education at Wangaratta High School.
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
Primary Education
1979
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
Mud Puddles
1973
1972
1971
1970
1969
1968
