In 2018 no matter how much money, influence, friends or intelligence you have you will be affected by two things at some point suicide and cancer. Both should not exist we just need to use our money, influence, friends and intelligence to make sure it doesn’t!

— kotsialos (@kotsialos) April 16, 2018

I wish more people realised that a skin cancer on the face, neck, scalp or ear can spread to a lymph node nearby. If you’ve had a skin cancer removed and develop a lump in your neck, you should seek professional medical advice as soon as possible. #HeadandNeckCancer https://t.co/wAHYFkbQo5

If you like me have or are going through the process of doing a renovation you will identify with it as an expensive, exciting, creative and stressful journey.

One of the most stressful parts of the process is choosing the right mix of suppliers, contractors and tradespeople to get the job done. Here are my reviews so far from our Journey. We will update as we go.

Phase One – Kitchen Overhaul

Nouvelle Kitchens – Stage: Site Measure
Contact: Geoff
Scope: Install a large new Kitchen for us to be delivered late January

Experience and process so far: So far so good, we are relatively impressed with the service we have received from Nouvelle Kitchens to date, with friendly, attentive staff, and creative and innovative design solutions.

Pre-quote

• We dropped into the showroom in Willougby, the lady on reception was great, very friendly and immediately worked to get us set-up with a designer and confirm the reality of timelines etc…
• Straight after the visit when confirming the appointment, Nouvelle Kitchens provided a lot of information about the business and their qualifications were great.
• A designer was scheduled to visit our site a few days later, they confirmed the appointment and were on-time.

Quote and design

• Geoff visited our house, was very friendly, understanding and listened while giving us insight into things we should think about and consider.
• A basic outline of options and what we needed was discussed and we went ahead and booked an appointment in the office a few days later.
• The appointment in the office was great, we were able to see what we were talking about and go through the pros and cons of options in terms of layout and functionality.
• Geoff was able to make changes right there as we went.
• When the quote came in, Geoff was able to accommodate changes and requirements to meet our budget.
• The deposit was able to be taken by Credit Card and once done we quickly got insurance forms, welcome packs and designs delivered to us.
• Looking forward to the ‘check measure’ which is now booked for week 27th November

Check Measure and Plans

Stage two of our kitchen renovations are underway.

Nouvelle Kitchens arrived on site in good time to check the original measurements, and confirm everything was on the appointed timeline. We were happy to receive and confirm the official plans with them several days later and were very impressed with the quality, in fact, they were fantastic.

Our dealings with Nouvelle Kitchens to date has been a pleasant experience, and we are looking forward to discovering the next stage in the journey.

Production

We are now entering the production phase of our kitchen upgrade and are waiting in anticipation on the delivery and install of our new Kitchen. Hopefully, all going to schedule we will be enjoying our upgraded kitchen in early February 2018.

Next stages

• Delivery cabinets
• Install cabinets
• Install benchtops
• Install splashback

More Updates to Follow.

It has been a very busy year.  Read an update I wrote for my company on our first 10 months.

CPS – Providing Automation Operations through the use of Applied AI

The Australian Government announced an improved HPV vaccine for 12 & 13-year-olds from next year this protects about 5% of cancers worldwide including cervical cancer, some forms of throat cancer (this is what I had) and anal cancer.

read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/08/australian-children-to-get-new-hpv-vaccine-against-90-of-cervical-cancers 

On Thursday I was lucky enough to attend the Pathfinders forum.

Apart from the sadness and fear of hearing about how wild and random cancer is, it was really good to hear from people who are really making a difference in the way that treatments and cures for Cancer are treated.

I really encourage anyone who reads this to get involved and check it out. http://www.pathfindersgroup.com.au/cancer-research-revolution-forum/

Custom Publishing Solutions hosted a fantastic gathering of industry experts speaking on the hot topic of Technology in Publishing.

Guest speakers from Iptor Supply Chain Systems, Typefi, Custom Publishing Solutions, Frost Collective  / The Nest and Google all shared with Publishing professionals from around Sydney, the current and future developments in technology and the way it is revolutionising how Publishing businesses operate.

Custom Publishing Solutions (CPS), launching this month, will provide new solutions to help the Australian Publishing Industry overcome the technological and operational challenges it is currently facing, by using the tools of the next industrial revolution.

In an age of ever-changing technological advancements, the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is no longer the subject of sci-fi movies. Globally, business is taking advantage of AI and Automation to such an extent that experts are calling it the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The publishing sector is no exception and with the launch of CPS, the industry will be able to experience the full force of AI Automation technology and its operational application.

It is a timely arrival for the publishing industry, which is under increasing pressure to reduce costs in the face of the current copyright review, increased international competition and the increasing diversity of formats and business models.

Media and technology expert Spiros Kotsialos, Founder of CPS, is a respected publishing operations and technology guru with more than 20 years experience in systems management and digital innovation for publishers such as Random House, HarperCollins, News Limited and Allen and Unwin.

The 2015 McKinsey Quarterly report (Four Fundamentals of Workplace Automation) suggests that Automation and AI will ‘redefine jobs and business processes’, providing vast opportunities for professional growth of the current workforce. According to the January 2016 World Economic Forum (WEF) (Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution) report, automation technology and AI are key contributors to the fourth industrial revolution.

Based on this and other research, Kotsialos believes that “CPS will assist publishing businesses that may be struggling to free up resource to take advantage of technological advancements” Kotsialos said “As a mature industry, publishing has endured many changes and is challenged by significant movement in its customer base and an increased cost of doing business. AI can really help, if you know what you are doing. By directly taking on a publisher’s existing challenges and costs, CPS will help businesses move forward with new confidence and security, whilst reducing the cost of book production and distribution.”

About Custom Publishing Solutions:
Custom Publishing Solutions is an AI led technology company providing solutions to the technological and operational challenges of book publishers.

For more information on what Custom Publishing Solutions is doing to move into the fourth industrial revolution contact;

Spiros Kotsialos
www.custompublishingsolutions.com

Hello all, its been a longtime since I updated this blog, it is amazing how when you start to feel better you fall straight back into the life of being busy.

I write this while sitting on my balcony in Greece at 10am in the morning, looking out at the view, with the sun on my back and while my cousin with down syndrome watches on in a unsettling way.

I am in Greece as a final 40th present to myself (and if I am honest more so from my wife who let me :-). The present was to spend as much time as I could with people close to me, this involved some functions in Auckland, Sydney and Greece. I saw it as a way of celebrating the fact that I had been cancer free for six months and was finally able to drink some alcohol even if it was just beer.

I am feeling pretty good now, still have a sore throat from time-to-time and have some minor difficulty with eating but all in all my health is great. The doctors have been happy and have put on about 10 kilos since January.

Have been doing a lot of work over the past five months and have been guilty of falling back into things without prioritising whats important first. On a daily basis I seem to be getting a lot of things done but when I look back at the week I have not achieved what I want to.

My time here in Greece has been a good chance to think about that and whats next. I have spoken with people, visited the graves of recently departed, read a bit, caught up on the socials and observed a lot of people who live here who are both lonely and happy.

What does it all amount to? I am not sure, but what I do know is that am determined to do some things that matter over the next five years.

Video Update – 18 February

Personal Blog – 18 February 2016 from Spiros Kotsialos on Vimeo.