With the change of seasons, it's nearly time to change the smoke alarm batteries.  Well, the seasons and the fact that I was "advised" by the wife to start getting Christmas stuff out (UGH!).  Holidays usually consist of using electricity in ways it wasn't meant to be. 

Where is that special outlet thingy so I can plug in 72 strands of lights? 
I swear I had 12 extension cords last year, how can i make due with 10?

I thought I'd share a tidbit from my inspection report concerning smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms

Smoke alarms save lives, we all know that.  Sixty-five percent of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms at all or no smoke alarms that work. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.

In order to save lives they need two things - power and a functioning sensor.  The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends replacement of smoke detectors every 10 years or sooner if they do not respond properly. (See all smoke detector safety tips from NFPA)  Presumably, this is because the sensors will become less effective over time (they are mechanical and subject to failure).

It is beyond the scope of a home inspection to determine the age or sensor sensitivity of a smoke alarm.  I recommend everyone change the smoke alarms at time of possession and at the interval recommended by the manufacturer.  Smoke alarms are relatively inexpensive these days.  Isin't that expense worth it to positively know that your smoke alarms are brand new?  To me, it's much better than guessing how old they might be.

Some common smoke alarm tips:

• Install smoke detectors in each bedroom and on each floor of the home (follow manufacturers instructions).
• Interconnect smoke detectors so that when one sounds, they all sound.
• Use both ionization smoke alarms and photoelectric smoke alarms (or a combination alarm)
• Test alarms monthly by using the test button
• Change batteries twice a year

For a full list of smoke alarm tips, as well as general fire safety tips see www.nfpa.org

My son just started second grade and all of the kids in his class are excited to learn to write in cursive.  Never mind the fact that he is still trying to master printing - he can't wait to get started.  The cursive begins after New Years, and we were informed that in third grade they are to write exclusively in cursive.

I haven't written anything in cursive in years - decades, maybe - and wonder if I'm ahead of my time or way behind.  When I do write the old fashioned way (pen and paper) I always (and I rarely use the word always) print - signature excluded (and my signature is a big scribble - or so my wife says).  

Seems to me that in this day of word processors, email and texting that the "art" of writing is fading fast.  I am 99% certain that my son's first attempt at writing in cursive will be far better than any cursive I were to attempt,

My questions to you, my fellow Rainers are...

• Do you write the old fashioned way (pen and paper)?
• Do you write in cursive?  
• Do you print?  
• Does it matter?

If you print, like me, try writing something in cursive.  Go ahead, right now - try it - I did (and now I am 100% certain that my son will write better in cursive than I do).  Yes, it probably looks funny, but if you can't laugh at your own writing, what can you laugh at!

With apologies to Pink Floyd.

Moment of silence, please.

Ok, I am AMAZED at how fast AR has grown.  I have been "Active" for around a month and have seen the membership jump from 102,000ish to 109,401 in that time.  I hope the continued growth has helped everyone meet new friends and grow their business.

At this moment there are 18,387 Rainers on now!

I have never seen that stat over 6,000!

WOW! WAY TO GO ACTIVE RAIN!

Sometimes, during the course of an inspection I see things that defy logic.  Often it's homeowner "fixes" that make you scratch your head.  On occasion it's a contractor who baffles me by their workmanship (or lack thereof).  When looking at and reporting on some things, I will often refer to the manufacturer's installation instructions. 

Some manufacturers have realized that people do not always read all of the instructions and will take extra steps to make sure that certain parts of the installation instructions are followed.  Usually if you see a large warning label, it is safe to assume that this is something that is more prone to failure which could cause serious injury (and lawsuits).  Some still, do not pay attention.

In this instance (pull-down attic stairs) the manufacturer clearly calls for a nail, yet the installer thought a screw would do.  Now, I'm no rocket scientist or big city lawyer, but seems to me that the manufacturer has spent many hours and many dollars to verify that their installation instructions meet the safety requirements in order to protect the consumer (and keep them out of court).  

Yet the installer knows better?

I don't know exactly why they specify a nail (I wasn't in on that meeting - darn!) - It most likely has something to do with the shear strength of a nail vs. a screw - but that's really immaterial.  They went the extra step to try to "idiot-proof" this particular part of the installation, and apparently failed.

In today's society, where spilling hot coffee on yourself can get you big bucks, why wouldn't you just follow instructions?

My 7 year old convinced my wife to stay up past his bedtime tonight (I needed no convincing). 

He wanted to check the Cubs score and saw that Zambrano had a no hitter in the 7th inning. 

The deal was, one hit and he was off to bed. 

Luckily Zambrano completed the No-No.

What a thrill it was to watch the end of that game with my boy!

In part III,  I said that Google pays special attention to URLs and page titles.  AR gives us some room to use this to our advantage.  Your Blog Title (What you type in the title box) becomes part of the URL AND your page title.

Here is an example - A fellow inspector - I mean, Property Consultant (sorry Russel) - did a blog titled, "Need Help Paying your Mortgage?"

Before I show you how powerful titles can be, just think about how many businesses would like to ask people that exact question these days.  Probably millions.  Let's Google that phrase. 

Just as I suspected - right near the top.  (ok, you caught me - I looked before I decided to use that example)

Now, the actual blog post isn't about refinancing, loan or grant programs or anything of the sort but the power of his title got him to the top for that phrase.

I know some of you are thinking, "Who would actually do a search for that exact phrase?"  Good question.  The answer is probably no one.  I used that as an example of the power of titles.

Here's another example:

I did a blog titled "Recalled Sony VAIO laptops".  That may actually be a term someone searched for. 

My blog entry comes up on page 3 for that phrase.  Check it out.

I know, not such a good placement if I wanted to be the top dog for recalls.  But, page three puts me in the top 30 or so of the thousands of web sites that were putting out that information.  Think Sony, CPSC, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sam's Club, etc.  All of them are much larger and dedicated to the tech industry in general. There are probably a ton of blogs about the recall too, but I beat 'em all (or most) simply because of my title.

So, now we know that a title is a very powerful thing.  How can we use that to benefit our blog's SEO?

Simple, be sure your keywords are in your title.

Just to make it clear - Be sure your keywords are in your title.

AR is kind enough to start all of our blogs with "Real Estate Blog" as the first part of our blogs title.  I do want to take a minute to make sure we're on the same page.  I am referring now to individual blog posts, NOT your blog in general (which will have many posts).  We should refer back to the list of keywords we made in part II. Since we have Real Estate in the title already (courtesy AR) we will want to add our other keywords (city/town anyone) along with Realtor or Real Estate Agent.  Yes, put the words Real Estate in again, but not at the front of the title.  Something like "Schaumburg Home for sale call your real estate agent today". 

You also have to ask yourself an important question for each blog, "What is this blog supposed to do?"

Not all blogs should be designed to get to the top of Google.  You can blog for a number of reasons; readership, points, fun, sharing experiences, asking questions, etc.  Those blogs may also reach the first page of Google.  If, however you want to design a blog to see it on page one of Google, you are dealing with a different animal that takes more work.

Keep your keywords in mind before you write your blog.  You should include them early and often (kinda like voting in Chicago) in your post.  There's a fine line between producing a good SEO blog and writing a blog that can actually be read.  You don't want to end up with a post at the top of Google that simply says "Schaumburg Realtor" 298 times.

If you have a hard time deciding between using a keyword or not, I would generally go with what's easier to read.

I hope this helps, I'll have more ideas later - much work to do now!

The CPSC released a recall today for certain Sony VAIO Laptops.  Seems some of the internal wiring can short out and cause a burn hazzard.  The recalled notebook computer models are the VAIO VGN-TZ100 series, VGN-TZ200 series, VGN-TZ300 series and VGN-TZ2000 series. Not all units are affected, so contact Sony if you have one of these models.

For the full report from CPSC, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08392.html

From sony's website: http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/news-item.pl?template_id=1&news_id=272

To get all recall notices direct to your email, sign up here

I try to use spell check on all of my posts (I know, sometimes I forget).  The AR spell checker, though, cracks me up.

Does anyone else find it funny that the AR spell checker has blog as a misspelling?

I mean, this is a site for blogs, right?  I chuckle every time I see blog underlined.

Some options are: bog, log, blag, bloc, biog, bldg, blow, blob. 

So, if you see me writting about my blob, I blame the spell checker!

I haven't blogged in a week.  Today I set aside an hour or so before firing up the grill to come up with some enlightening, informative and/or entertaining blog.

I've been sitting here for about 30 min. and I've got nothin'. 

I started one blog (about efflorescence) - and got stuck after 2-3 sentences. 

I started another (about coaching youth sports) and got all of five sentences out before I got stuck.

I need some help!

How do you come up with good blog topics?

What do you do when you get stuck?

I really like the format here and do have plenty to share.  I am not one to be at a loss for words (usually), but when it comes to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) I clam up like a... see, I don't even have a good simile for clamming up!

So, you blog pros, what can I do?

Yes, that title could be about various real estate markets.

But, it also could be about something much more important.

The Presidential Election? Nope.

The state of the economy? Nope.

 The Chicago Cubs? You bettcha!

Sorry if you're not a Cubs fan, you can probably skip the rest of this.

I was having a conversation with some other long-suffering Cubs fans about today's loss to the lowly Washington Nationals.  We were alternating between, "This really could be the year" to "Here we go again, the free-fall started today".  If you haven't been a Cubs fan for any length of time, you have no idea the pain we've been through and the heartache we've endured. 

After leaving that situation without resolving if the glass was "half-full" or "the freaking Cubs just spilled the glass all over (again)!" - I sought council from someone who knows the Cubs inside and out.  Someone who, every morning, reads the sports section to go over all the stats.  Someone who can tell you almost anything you want to know about this year's Cubs team.  DeRosa's HR total - check, Fukudome's batting average before his slump- check, Marmol's ERA before and after the All-Star break - check, Number of times D-Lee has grounded into double plays - that too.  Someone who is starting second grade - my son.

Here's (roughly) what he said, (and yes, it all ran together like this) "Daddy, don't worry, it was one game. We'll win the next two, win the series, and be five and a half or six games ahead of the Brewers.  The Rays may have the best record in baseball again, but who cares.  We got Dempster and Harden the next two days and then we play the Pirates.  The Cubs will make the playoffs, Daddy, and probably win the World Series.  I hope they don't play the Angels, though." 

Through all his positive energy, you know what stuck out in my mind? 

"I hope they don't play the Angels, though."

Could it be that, even at 7, he already knows?  What have I done to my son?

Have a great weekend!

Questions about houses?
Contact Rick Maday
Owl Home Inspections
A Home Inspection the Way it Should Be.