Yeaaaaaaaaaaah! I finally won something! All thanks to blogging.
I am not sure how I stumbled upon Duarte Design, but these people quickly became my "PowerPoint Mentors". Duarte Design create presentations for Fortune 500 companies, and people like Al Gore. They are the aficionados of presentation design. When you have nothing better to do check out their portfolio.
Anyways....I subscribed to their blog which ran a contest for a new idea to replace this old cliche, "Susie Customer Service" we all know her from commercials and ads. I am even guilty of using her.
So I submitted my ideas for her replacement and was randomly selected to win an autographed copy of:
"Slide:ology" The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte.
I cant wait to read this book. If you regularly give PowerPoint presentations, or any kind of presentation I would recommend checking this book out. It not only gives you the "how to's" but also diagrams and ideas on how to apply them. Boy is my listing presentation getting a makeover.
Here is a little more about Nancy Duarte (source Amazon.com): Principal of Duarte Design (http://www.duarte.com) since 1990, Nancy Duarte passionately pursues the presentation development and design niche. One of the largest design firms in Silicon Valley and listed as a top woman-owned business in the area, Duarte Design is one of the few agencies in the world focused solely on presentations, whether they are delivered in person, online or via mobile device. Nancy's twenty years of experience working with global companies and thought leaders has influenced the perception of some of the world's most valuable brands and many of humanity's common causes.
Do you have an idea that you believe could help people? The people at Google, in celebration of their 10th birthday want to hear your ideas, as part of the "10 to the 100 Project".
Submit your ideas now until Oct. 20th. Google will then post a selection of 100 ideas for the public to vote on. The selection will then be narrowed down to 25 semi-finalists which will then be narrowed down to about 5.
Google has commited $10 million dollars to help these ideas become reality. Here are the categories, your idea should fit into 1 of them............
HUD Secretary Steve Preston allocated almost 4 billion dollars Friday to all states as part of the HUD's new Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The NSP program will give states fund (especially harder hit ares) to purchase foreclosed properties and redevelop them. The goal of this is to prevent abandonment of these home which would then become "eye sores" for the communities they are within.
The funding is provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
Every state will recieve a minimum grant of 19.6 million dollars. There are stipulations and guidelines as to how the money will be allocated. Communities will receive the funds as soon as they submit a plan that complies with the CDBG program. It will be up to the local and state government to determine the best use of the fund, and develop a plan.
HUD plans to host a national housing summit in Washington, D.C. on October 7-8, as well as a series of regional conferences to explain the details of this new program to governors, mayors, county executives and other state and local leaders.
Here is a blog under 50 words. Not going for points on this one. Found this picture on an agentgenius.com blog and it made me laugh. Happy Friday everyone....what a week!
I subscribe to the House Committee on Financial Service blog/newsroom. Its not edge of your seat material, but it is a great place to get an overview of what in the world is going on with our economy. Lately I have been surfing the Treasury department site too since apparently there is a money tree there that is losing about 700 billion dollars worth of leaves right now.
What sparked this blog topic was my desire to know more on what is going on with the ongoing Wall Street bail out. The headline news cliffnotes are not going to cut it for me this time. So here is what I have gathered so far, for your review, if you are like me and want to know more. Feel free to comment with your links, documents if I miss something here.
Going green? Yes!.... and Im not talking camouflage here folks. It's Operation Change Out. This year, army installation across the country are participating in Operation Change Out, a nationwide effort to bring a little energy efficiency to the military environment. Service members are urged to replace there less efficient incandescent light bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified light bulbs. Fort Bragg is joining the "fight" to protect our environment by soliciting 5,000 pledges from base employees and family members by October 1st.
Ft. Bragg began this mission in August by replacing 2,000 incandescent bulbs in base halls and pledges to replace another 2,500 at a later date. Beginning January 2009, 75,000 light bulbs in Ft. Bragg housing will be replaced with ENERGY STAR CFL's. All total Ft. Bragg has committed to replacing 190,000 light bulbs over the next 3 years. Wow. Way to go green!
I had never really given much thought to an online legacy until this contest came up. If I died, I wouldn't think people would say, "Jessi's blog was great". But I see the point in this. The web is like a world of its own, and blogging is unique in that it allows you to get a sense of the writer with out every meeting them. That is what is so powerful about blogging...no matter the subject.
I have no idea what people would say about my blogs, and websites. I would hope it would include words like; informative, funny, creative, local, and that it is not a "me parade" (except this blog). If I had to choose a word I would choose "sharing".
I started blogging with Active Rain. I wanted my blog to be less about me and more about Fayetteville and Real Estate. Then in surfing around AR I would find posts from tech savvy agents, and they were super informative. My business began to go in a new direction as I learned more and more how to make my computer work for me in new and exciting ways. Now 4 months later I teach tech classes here at our KW market center and I also have started a nice local virtual assistant, and web design business.
Memorable discoveries: that source code is not some FBI jargon, and that if I change something here and there the world will not stop turning. I have discovered Google Reader, Flickr, WordPress, and even figured out how to design my own AR background. I have made my 07' Microsoft Office Suite bend to my will (kinda like conquering the universe), and recently jumped for joy when I Google'd 82nd Airborne Fort Bragg and found my blog at the top of the page (was not expecting that).
TechRani.com my first GoDaddy site, and home page for my Fayetteville Virtual Assist business.
So there you have it. My online legacy featured in a blog online. It's a legacy that is growing daily. Its a legacy I hope is positive, and helps people. In closing I'd just like to mention that all the photo tricks, and clip art in this post I have learned from reading blogs on AR and other professionals blogs who chose to share what they are good at online. My legacy is a spin off of there legacy. Thanks.
Fayeteville State University is in the process of constructing a new $10 million building which will be located on east campus near the Charles W. Chesnutt Library. When completed in 2009 this modern 3 story building will house both instructional and research facilities including 11 classrooms, 3 labs of 36 bed, and a computer lab. In addition there will be 36 offices, 3 conference spaces, as well a smaller break out rooms and student lounge areas.
Fayetteville State University is no stranger to exploring new construction projects and having gone to the college myself, I would say has a spirit and genuine interest in growing to service the student, not just to become a bigger campus.
Some other construction projects in past years has been the Fayetteville State University, University Place Apartments. This 8 million dollar, 322 bed project completed in 02' the apartments addressed the housing crunch brought about by increased enrollments, and also serves as a great recruiting tool.
Each apartment contains four private bedrooms with a private bath, a kitchen and dining area, a spacious living area, large windows and a washer/dryer closet. All apartments are furnished, and specific units are ADA-accessible. The complex also features a clubhouse with amenities (student lounge, foundation and property-management offices) and a central laundry facility.
Perhaps my favorite building on campus is the new Seabrook Auditorium...if you had seen the old one you would really appreciate this gorgeous new building.
This new $7 million dollar gem replaced the old auditorium which had been at FSU since the 50's. The old stage house was completely demolished and replaced with a lobby, ticket office, and covered entrance. A historic campus gate has also been incorporated into the design. Only the auditorium shell and balcony structure were retained. All existing building systems were replaced and a new sound, lighting, and sprinkler systems were added. The two-story glass and steel lobby connects the auditorium to the campus and acts as a vibrant addition to the campus at night.
After 6 years in the making the Cape Fear Valley Hospital here in Fayetteville has just completed construction on the Valley Pavilion expansion project. The Bauhaus design influenced structure features metal archways, silvery finished wall panels and expansive glass work that gives the hospital a new sleek look.
"Its the kind of facility Cumberland County has deserved for a really long time," says Braxton Strickland Administrative Director of Non-Invasive Cardiac Diagnostics for the Heart & Vascular Center.
The new patient friendly designed Valley Pavilion boasts larger patient rooms, enhanced reception areas for family and visitors, and a new emergency department features all private rooms.
The patient rooms are now 50% larger and more technology has been brought bedside with personal computers in every room. The new modular bed system will minimize the needs to move patients from unit to unit as they recover from surgery. Patients will be able to stay in the original room they were assigned and their status will be updated in the electronic tracking system. Even more important the number of patient beds has increased significantly. The emergency dept. has 3 times more beds than before. All total there are around 132 inpatient and observation beds.
The Valley Pavillion contains a new Heart & Vascular center boasting labs featuring the latest technology for diagnosing and treating heart disease. There is also a Bariatric center, Women's Pavillion, Imaging Center, and a brand new Children's Emergancy Dept.
I forgot to mention there is a new 5 story parking deck as well that makes finding parking at this hospital much easier then years past.
The rains of Hana have driven us inside and looking for things to do. I have cleaned out the refrigerator, played a couple games of sorry and now I have resorted to surfing around the Internet for never before read blogs. I stumbled upon the Sellsius real estate marketing blog's posting about a dome shaped home and a resort with dome shaped rooms.
This brought to mind that show on HGTV called Extreme Homes and Extreme Homes International. Because I am bored and because I love houses...here is my self indulgent collage of Extreme Homes.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
This year, army installation across the country are
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