Fires and PC Backup

A true friend called to let me know that he and the other 3 passengers in the car were safe and unharmed. The same could not be said for his wardrobe and more importantly, his notebook computer.

As a computer consultant I find myself wearing many hats. As a rule I make sure my clients are aware of PC viruses, spyware, basic system cleaning and maintenance and most importantly - backup.

My friend and his wife were passengers in a car. They noticed a smell and thought it was the truck in front of them. Then the flames starting coming out from the rear passenger seats that they were sitting in. The car was pulled over, and with some commotion every exited the car. Soon there were fire-trucks and TV cameras surrounding the left-overs of the car. There was only metal left.

My friend asked what to do about the data on his notebook PC. I asked if he had backups. There were not any. So, we learned a lesson the hard way. Hopefully, you have learned the same lesson the easy way - BACKUP !

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today we again celebrated Mom’s 80^th birthday. Just this weekend we had the remote family pre-birthday celebration. Just when you thought the excitement was over - here we are again with the official date celebration. We celebrate her fine physical health, her sharp mind, her positive outlook and her unending selfless nature. Her older sister flew in from 1,000 miles away to be with her.

What a blessing to have your parents live long and well. Today we celebrated mom’s birthday with a family dinner out that included her sister, who just arrived, from out of town, especially for the occasion. There are many personal things that I could say. I hope that all of you have experienced either being a loved child, a loving parent, or both.

As one spends time with family, one’s love and appreciation only deepens as the experiences of a lifetime are created and shared. I wish all of you the blessing of a loving family.

Collection Agents - Not Nice

Although I personally have impeccable credit, a friend of mine does not. I decided to get him out of a tight spot by paying off his debt to a collection agency. I spoke to them on his behalf and we agreed on terms. The female collection agent assigned to my friend's account faxed me the terms of settlement which said that 1/10th of the settlement amount needed to be received today and the balance needed to be received within 5 days.

On the phone the agent said that she wanted me to give her a (2) check numbers and my checking account information so that she could draw the funds per the settlement agreement. She wished for 1/10th of the funds to be withdrawn from my account immediately and the remaining 9/10ths she would withdraw 5 days later.

I spoke to my personal banker and she informed to absolutely NOT give anyone - especially a collection agency my account information. The bank cannot setup a finite and specific withdrawal schedule. Once you have given them the account information they can access your account at will and you will be powerless to control it.

With this information I called the collection agency back and spoke to a different representative. I asked for their Western Union transfer information. He gave it to me. I decided to send the full amount at once instead of as two payments, just so that we wouldn't have to deal with these people a moment longer. Later on, I found out from my friend that after his assigned representative found out that the payments were going to be sent Western Union instead of having access to my personal bank account information she threatened that she was not going to accept the payments and that she was going to sue as well as having my friend picked up by the police.

I understand if a person has no intention of paying their debt and they are deadbeats. There doesn't need to be a lot of sympathy for the habitual credit abuser. However, there are times when people find themselves in the unexpected position where they are trying to make payments as best they can and are trying to work with their creditors.

Being a collection agent may be financially rewarding. However, often the work entails preying on the already struggling, financially challenged, who cannot afford legal advice. Agents use strong arm tactics with threats and intimidation of those who cannot defend themselves. It's a place I'm glad I only have had to visit from the outside.

Think outside the box

The toilet handle had become limp. The chain that is connected, from it to the flapper inside the tank, had broken and was now a bit short. I just used a bread twist-tie wire and connected one end to the handle and wrapped the other end around the remaining part of the chain connected to the flapper - voila!

It doesn't really qualify as McGyver- esque, but still - it was thinking a little outside the box for a blonde housewife.

Eat right

Eating right makes a difference.

Customer service is still alive

Today I made valuable suggestions to a client that wanted to have their website updated. They had specific requests in mind before our meeting. By the end, I had explained and demonstrated some important aspects of why Search Engine Optimization was important and how to do it.

My client was very pleased and got a free class on an important marketing tool for their business. I sincerely want my customers to be successful. I put myself in their shoes and ask the questions that they don't know to ask for them. I provide them with nearly free or affordable solutions to help them grow their business. Do I make a lot of money at this. Well, I lose money on every sale, but I'm making it up on volume.

It's vital for me to make sure that my customers are treated with care and to offer assistance. If they do not want the assistance - they will let me know. That has never happened yet. They trust my professional opinion and experience to keep their best interests in mind while offering valuable marketing and business advice and solutions.

Why do I work until the job is done - even when the price for the 2 hour job is fixed and it takes 10 hours? The reason is I treat others - all others, like I personally would like to be treated. That means getting a good value, with courteous service, in a timely manner, with professional and positive results. If customer service is getting hard to find in your town - have them give me a call. I'll let them know that it's not about the money. It's about taking pride in your work and getting satisfaction from helping others move forward.

Calf Shaver

Today I shaved my calf. I knew I was going to be cutting and laying vinyl flooring, so I wore my work shorts and t-shirt. By the time I was done I had some flooring adhesive that just wouldn't come off my hands. We'll get how that is tied to shaving my calf after I give you some background.

I measured and cut the vinyl. I then thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned the bottom of the vinyl and the hall and bathroom floors where its new home would soon be. I made sure that while cutting the separate pieces that the patterns would line up where the bathroom met the hallway. I perfectly made the cutouts for the commode water supply line and the bathroom vanity. I spread the adhesive, put down the flooring and broke out the 100 lb vinyl flooring roller that I rented from Home Depot. (No, I don't get money for that.)

When the time came for the vinyl in the hallway, I had to remove the storm door and the main hallway entry door in order to spread the vinyl that went under the door sash. I can undestand why some people don't do home repairs - it takes some guts and sometimes some special tools. However, you will almost always save money by buying commonly used tools and renting specialty tools and doing it yourself than paying someone else. Eventually, you'll have accumulated enough basic tools to handle almost any home repair or remodeling project - I know I have!

After the party was over, meaning that the floors had been rolled, the doors reinstalled, and the tools cleaned - I headed home. As I was cleaning up, in the shower, I noticed that soap was not completely removing the adhesive from my hands. As I was washing my calves I noticed that there were little adhesive cling-ons on my calf hair. The more I rubbed my calf to get them off the more of them appeared. I noticed that as my calf hair was developing more of these sticky cling-ons my hands were getting progressively cleaner. Soon I was purposely rubbing the parts of my hand that had the aforeto unremovable adhesive on my calf. It was pure genius! The adhesive was sticking to the hair on my calf and my hands were now completely clean!

With my newly clean hands I tried rubbing, scratching and scraping off the adhesive from my calf hair. It was futile. It was inevitable - I picked up the razor. I shaved my calf. Now both my hands and calf are clean. Hmmm, what kind of calf hair product can I market at Home Depot to clean adhesive covered hands?

Celebrate moments / The human condition

Celebrate life and share. Today is the birthday of my best friend. He is no longer able to celebrate in person - because he has moved on. However, that doesn't keep me from celebrating for and with him. Although, I had started typing this blog at 11:41 pm, at 11:53 pm I took a break to submerse myself, literally, in the creek 200 feet away. At minight, in the beginning of January one doesn't usually find many people in the creek. As I looked up into the stars, from the cold water, I felt connected and at peace. I celebrated a moment for my friend and was very alive at that moment and the feeling stills lingers.

As I had started to say earlier, I am most fulfilled when helping to nuture, support and lift others. Curiously, I am noticing more public awareness, groups and organizations that are developing and declaring they want to help others as well. Maybe there is a threshold that is starting to be reached by our more global society to face our self-centered cultures and begin to reflect on the larger mankind. Recently, I have had both local and long distance clients bring up subjects of social consciousness and the greater good.

The clincher was an email I just received responding to a business question I had. Then another email, from the same sender, immediately followed that included a slide presentation. He explained that this presentation had been done for his friends this Christmas season. His touching and poignant presentation depicted human nature, the human spirit and the need we all have for compassion, introspection and the divine. People with messages like this need to stay in the gene pool to ensure that the voices of reason, decency and goodness in the human spirit are shared and spread. When we find some thing that was created through loving effort, for the benefit of others, we should say thanks and then consider how we can do the same.