Business, Marketing, and New Technology
Technology
Do Yourself a Favor- Sell Your Phone
Apr 22nd
Once again, my kids have upgraded their phones. Thank goodness these days you can keep your old number, or I’d be losing track. Seems like they can’t go 6 months without getting the latest and greatest toy for grownups!
Now, the question, what to do with the old phones? My son gave me one of his old phones about 6 months ago, and I’m still trying to figure out all the things it can do, so I’m not in the running for a brand new one, no, not yet!
All those phones can really pile up in the corners of your house, if you don’t have a plan for getting rid of them. They’re way too good to throw away; besides you don’t want to do that- bad for the environment. There are metals and chemicals in those phones that are really not at all good for dear Mother Earth.
So, what to do? Here’s a great solution, that is good for the house, good for the environment, and good for the wallet- sell the old phone!
But where, and to whom, you say?
Try these people out: sell mobile .
They can give you a really good price, and its a win-win-win for everyone! How’s that for a good idea?
Software to Help Manage Your Warehouse
Apr 3rd
For years I was an eye witness to the advent of technology in the factory. Well, not exactly an eye witness, I was married to a computer geek who wrote the software that made the “robots” in the warehouse do their thing. What was happening was that state-of-the-art robotic machines could be given information to go out into the warehouse -unmanned- and find the product or supply needed, and bring it back to wherever it was wanted. My Ex did the software programming to make this happen, so I heard a lot about it. It was the first time I had heard about bar code scanning. (Remember, this was back in the 80′s)
In the course of events, I also learned a lot about how complex it is to run a warehouse, or any kind of business that has to intake, store, and then ship out product or materials to the customer. It can be quite a daunting task. However, the latest innovations in warehouse management software
have helped make this nightmare considerably easier. Now, you can fully customize the software for your needs, right down to your business logo. And you don’t have to pay for extra stuff you don’t need. The software is web-based, so there is no software to install, maintain, or update. You can keep your clients happy with real-time information, and you can add and in-activate customers on the fly right in the warehouse!
We’ve come a long way, Baby!
Dad’s Advice
Jan 2nd
Posted by Heriberto Fuentes
My dad kept warning me and warning me about going to WwW.homesecuritysystem.CoM to get a home alarm but I just didn’t listen. That was until my house got broken into while I was away on vacation. Nothing will wake you up like seeing all your laundry strewn about the foyer so I took his advice and had this place all alarmed up. I guess when I bought a house I didn’t realize there was so much involved in taking care of it. I’d always been living in apartment complexes where security wasn’t an issue but now that I own this place I feel like I have to be a bit more vigilant. I love the responsibility but sometimes it can be kind of overwhelming, to be honest. I’m only 27 years old and sometimes I don’t have to worry about taking care of a big old house but I love living here so I guess that’s part of the trade off. At least I’m building equity rather than just wasting money on rent.
Drafting on Steroids
Nov 18th
Back in the Jurassic Age when I went to college, I studied drafting. Of course, back then, everything was done on paper *gasp*, and the tools were entirely different. We recently cleaned out the attic, and my kids were fascinated by the drafting tools that were “unearthed”. I had “triangles” and a “T-square” and a brush made just for clearing away erasure dust. I even had a very special pencil sharpener that would sharpen a very special pencil lead to a very special point. It was kinda sad for me to know that the students today do not even know what these tools are for.
Still, it is progress. I also am a bit sad that I do not know how to work the new CAD programs on the computer. You know, the ones that all the design work is done on now. They make the work much, oh, so much faster, and more accurate. There is no guesswork as to “just how thick is that line there, anyway?” Everything is specific, and changeable. The engineering software that is available these days is nothing short of miraculous! The CAD/CAM programs can design houses, landscapes, new inventions, you name it. They can do everything from creating 2-D objects, to 3-D solid modeling, dimensioning, and everything in between. Amazing.
Photos at Home
Oct 11th
Years ago, when my kids were younger, and changing so fast you just couldn’t keep up with them, I was into taking lots and lots of photos. With 4 kids, 4 birthdays, 4 school plays, 4 band concerts, 4 scout activities (every month!) there was ALWAYS something to take a picture of. That’s not even counting the holidays. And we did love to party! We had an exchange student come over from Sweden one year, and by Christmas, he’d made the comment that he’d never known anyone who liked to have so many parties for so many reasons. 
He probably thinks all of America is the partying-est place ever!
Anyway, I took lots of pictures, and often wanted to have them asap. So I bought a photo printer. It’s an HP PhotoSmart, and it’s still chugging along nearly a decade later. I love my photo printer. I do not especially like having to buy the photo ink, but I guess that just comes with the territory. I also have to buy photo paper. Now, there are many many different kinds of photo papers available. Did you know you can get glossy, matte, satin, semi-gloss, glossy, premium high gloss, and professional high gloss, just to name a few! You can even get glow-in-the-dark paper- wow! Well, I only know of one place to get that, and it’s where I get all my other inkjet photo paper, at http://www.geographics.com.
Glow in the dark pictures, what will they think of next?
Sunshifter Clothing and Fingernails
Sep 9th
Ok, high tech fans, perhaps you knew about the clothing that changes color when the sun hits it? These have been around for 25 years or so. I know this for sure because my kids had some when they were small, and they are not small anymore! I’m wondering why this sort of high tech textile has not been more widespread than it is. I have heard of fabric that is “wired” in such a way, that you can actually have dynamic color changes, and it’s programmable.
For instance, you could have a series of colors change, More >
Obama- “keep my eye on robots”
Jun 26th
National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University this last Friday, President Obama joked around saying that part of his job is to “keep an eye on robots”. 
“I just met with folks from some cutting-edge companies and saw some of their inventions here in your National Robotics Engineering Center, but that’s not the only reason I’m here,” the president said. “You might not know this, but one of my responsibilities as commander in chief is to keep an eye on robots. And I’m pleased to report that the robots you manufacture here seem peaceful, at least for now.”
Yeah, I guess it is. Somehow, years ago, we were frightened with the idea that robots would take over the world and make slaves of us mere humans. Sure, yeah…
Anyway, it’s good to know that someone is watching out for us, right?
DIY Notepad for My Lists
Mar 31st
Guest post written by Deb Schwartzman
I’ve figured out over the years that if I don’t write down something that I have to do, it will never get done. I’m just so bad at remembering everything that I need to do on a daily basis and I do get really motivated when I see that I have stuff to do. Then I also get a little thrill out of marking each thing off the list.
But a lot of times I end up with so much junk mail and full pieces of scrap paper that I thought I would put some of it to use before I recycle it by making my own More >
Wish It Had a Porche Exhaust System
Mar 28th
Pollution is one of the main concerns that anyone has, who lives anywhere near a city. Car exhaust can not only irritate the lungs, and eyes, but cause an unsightly haze that blocks out vistas, not to mention the smell. I was standing near a pickup truck yesterday, and nearly choked from the blue smoke that poured out of the back of the tailpipe. Of course, you expect trashy exhaust from old clunkers, but it surely would be nice if they would all just clean up their acts! You can replace old, non-functional exhaust systems with something that will work much better, more efficiently, and be gentler on our lungs, thank you.
I know that replacing car parts when that part is still working is an exercise in discipline. But really, if the car is spewing out toxic yuck, is it really “still working”? And the new parts will work so much better. My sister has a Jaguar, and the exhaust system in it is a dream. What about the Porsche? I’ve never had anyone at all complain about More >
15 Years of Memories on DVD
Mar 8th
When my daughter graduated from high school, she and 5 of her friends decided to get together and have a huge graduation party. Some of them had know each other since they were babies at 6 months old, and the rest of the girls had grown up to together from kindergarten on, so it was natural for them to have one huge bash before separating to go off on their new college adventures. We, the parents, decided that it would be a great memorial for the girls to put together a DVD of their lives together. So we all gathered together pictures from the previous 15 years, and complied them into one long documentary of their lives together. One of the fathers had one of those DVD duplicators, which is good, because I had no idea how to handle the task, even though I was familiar with CD printers. I think even if I had years to research, and a complete DVD duplication guide, I still wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
But we did have a techno-guy in our midst, and he made the most awesome DVD ever! It was a montage of the girls’ lives, from tiny tot, to graduation day. Since the girls had known each other so long, there were many different events, and birthday parties, and soccer games, girl scout trips, you name it. What a huge set of memories!
We had the DVD playing on several big screen TVs during the party, so everyone got to watch, and laugh, and remember, and share the experiences once again. The DVD was at least a half hour long, and so there were quite a lot of photos to see. Everyone got a copy, and it will certainly be a true treasure for years to come.
If you’re having a family gathering, like an anniversary, this would be a really good idea.