And the winner is ... - 05/31/08 05:30 PM
We all know that attitude - especially a good attitude - is important in determining outcomes. In fact, you can actually see attitude.
I was watching a game recently, and it was apparent - if you knew what to look for - that the team that eventually lost would do so. There … (2 comments)
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Business casual - blame it on us Boomers - 05/31/08 01:45 PM
There was a time not too long ago that a businessman would need to wear a suit and tie, or a jacket and tie, or a sweater and tie - or something and a tie - if they wanted to make a good first impression.
Then we Boomers grew up and … (14 comments)
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All right, so I'm addicted - 05/31/08 11:35 AM
Wow, I awoke early - like I do on most Saturday mornings. Took the trash out to the street, made a cup of coffee, and sat down at the computer - but no Rain. For over 4 hours all I got was a message: "Status: 500 internal service error." I don't know … (22 comments)
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Memorial Day - for the traditional observance - 05/30/08 12:39 PM
Before Congress decided that we all needed a 3-day weekend in late May (not that there's anything wrong with that), Memorial Day was observed on May 30th - today.
To all those who still respect the traditional observance, and to those whom we honor - both this past Monday and today … (2 comments)
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How many mattresses does the average person use? - 05/30/08 10:35 AM
Today I counted 5 different mattress retail stores within 2 blocks - including one that is having its grand opening in the same location as a mattress store that is no longer there. Am I missing something? Should I be buying mattresses on a more regular basis? Should I own several … (10 comments)
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The power of the question - 05/29/08 02:22 PM
There is a great truth about asking questions. It's very powerful. Whoever is asking the questions in control. Want your customers to tell you about their needs? Ask. Want to learn anything else? Ask. When you are asked a question, you answer but you are telling or sharing. You are not … (4 comments)
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Defining your market area - for fun and profit - 05/28/08 08:17 PM
To be successful in real estate sales, you don't need to be a generalist. There's no need to drive all over town and be available for everyone who wants a piece of you. It may seem like you'd make more money this way, but it isn't efficient or profitable.
Instead, define … (16 comments)
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Déjà vu - again - 05/27/08 07:47 PM
I intended to show you a picture of a line at a gas station that I took 35 years ago when people were filling up for the outrageous price of 96 cents a gallon. Lines like that at the gas station were common at that time.
Fast forward 35 years to today. … (13 comments)
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Protecting our freedoms is a job for all of us - 05/26/08 08:16 AM
Protecting our liberties and maintaining them for all Americans is central to our way-of-life and national belief system.
Today is a designated day to reflect on the significant and unselfish contributions of our military, but this is a day as well for all the patriots who have served and who continue … (4 comments)
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Just what is a "proxy error"? - 05/25/08 04:01 PM
Several times this weekend I have been bogged down by unresponsiveness in posting comments or returning to previously viewed pages. After a little while, the action times out and I get a "Proxy Error" and this message: "The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. The proxy server … (22 comments)
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What can one person do? - 05/24/08 04:31 PM
So many times we tend to think that we don't matter or that we can't make a difference - that we're only one person. After all, what has one person been able to do? Nothing more than take prayer out of the public schools, ban Christmas nativity displays from schools and … (2 comments)
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What has really changed? - 05/24/08 01:48 PM
With the price of gasoline being considerably higher than it was even a short time ago, and possibly going even higher, there are many suggestions being offered on how to save gas. This is well and good, but it assumes that people consciously want to save gas by the way they … (12 comments)
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What do you recommend? - 05/24/08 10:22 AM
All of us had someone come to us to help solve a problem or issue - or so we thought. Maybe we were just the sounding board and tried to help too much.
When faced with the "What should I do?" question, try deflecting it before giving your opinion. Ask what … (6 comments)
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Let's put our thinking caps on - 05/23/08 04:13 PM
I know that gas prices are on a lot of people's minds right now. It's hard not to think or talk about it.
Here's what I don't get. There's windmill power, solar power (especially viable here in Florida), hydroelectric power (greatly underutilized), gasoline, natural gas, propane, fuel oil, coal, incineration of … (2 comments)
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Buckle your seat belts, it could be a wild ride - 05/22/08 10:38 PM
I heard on the news tonight that oil may hit $200 a barrel by the end of next year and that this will translate to $7 gas. Is this really possible or is this just more of the wild speculation that has lead to this incredible run-up in price?
The current … (16 comments)
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Four words I hate to hear - 05/22/08 10:46 AM
As consumers we are subjected to a lot of abuse - trying to find items on our own, determining if it's in stock, or "guessing" at what the price should be when items are not marked - and that's just before we purchase something. Then try taking back a broken or … (4 comments)
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Anyone know a good exorcist for computer mice? - 05/21/08 02:15 PM
I think my mouse is possessed. It's been getting worse - deciding when and where it will work and freeze or if it will jump the cursor around for me.
On my last comment, I went to hit the "submit" button only to have the mouse scroll down the page on … (8 comments)
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2nd Amendment challenge shoots blanks - 05/20/08 09:04 AM
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City ruled that gun manufacturers are not liable for crimes committed with their products - no more than a car manufacturer is liable for drunk or reckless driving incidents involving their products.
Finally the courts have figured out that it's the … (6 comments)
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My batteries are running low - 05/19/08 09:18 AM
I wonder if the guy (or gal) that invented rechargeable batteries knew what a devilish person they were? I mean rechargeable batteries are great - as long as they're charged. But they don't give you any margin. One minute you have a charge and you're talking on your cell phone, or … (10 comments)
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Now we have to be mindreaders, too? - 05/18/08 05:09 PM
Isn't it enough that we have to help ourselves in many stores - since there are no clerks or employees available to assist us? And we usually need to know more about the products than the employees anyway because when you do happen to corner one of them they won't know … (2 comments)
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Am I invisible? - 05/17/08 09:08 PM
I can't tell you the number of times I've been in a retail store - looking for someone to help me - and had people from the store just walk right past me as if I wasn't there. What am I invisible? Do I look like I don't need any help? … (22 comments)
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A new phishing expedition - 05/17/08 02:09 PM
In the last couple of days I have been bombarded by a new wave of phishing. I have received hundreds, if not thousands, of bogus software, drugs, and other unsavory offers in the past, but this is a new twist.
Today alone I have deleted over 60 such emails. They come … (2 comments)
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Help, I've forgotten how to spell - 05/17/08 11:09 AM
I don't know about you, but computers have turned me into a terrible spelling - especially with my reliance on spellchecker. You won't know this, but I made 3 errors in the previous sentence before I fixed them.
But on these Active Rain posts (and comments) I have a problem. The … (10 comments)
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2008 is clipping right along - 05/17/08 10:42 AM
I just looked at the calendar and realized that next weekend is the Memorial Day holiday - historically the official beginning of summer. Why, it's too early for this to be happening.
I remember as a kid, Memorial Day (which was May 30th then - regardless of which day of the … (7 comments)
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Make sure you're the right one - 05/16/08 08:25 PM
I love homonyms - words that are spelled the same or sound the same as others but mean different things - because I get a lot of mileage out of them as an unabashed punster.
There is one term though that I've noticed is misused more than it should be. The … (0 comments)
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Who have thought I'd be excited about $3.67 gas? - 05/15/08 09:48 AM
Wow, if you had told me that I would find $3.67 gas a reason to be happy, I'd never have believed it. This morning as I drove by $3.92, $3.88, $3.89, and similar prices, imagine my glee when I found the price at Sam's Club was only $3.67? Too bad I … (18 comments)
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Why doesn't my spellchecker help me out? - 05/14/08 08:16 AM
Why doesn't my spellchecker know what I want to say and help me out by making the changes automatically for me? How many times do I type "form" when I want to say "from" or "of" when I mean "or"? And then I type "there" for "their" or "they're." A little … (16 comments)
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Oops, do over - 05/13/08 10:46 AM
How many times have we sent an email to someone before we were ready because we inadvertently or hastily punched the "send" button when we hadn't checked to make sure the attachments were there or that we had proofread the note - or that we had spellchecked it? Ever panic because … (8 comments)
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Being in the right place at the right time, and knowing what to do - 05/12/08 04:20 PM
Sometimes you can be as prepared as you want, but being in the right place at the right time really helps.
In a post today by Hans Hansson, he recounts his many attempts at snagging a foul ball souvenir at baseball games and his successful effort a couple of weeks ago.
… (4 comments)
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You saw it here first - 05/11/08 03:17 PM
Now, it looks like more people are thinking like I am. In a Wall Street Journal editorial on Friday (May 9th), Cyril Moulle-Berteaux wrote "The Housing Crisis Is Over."
This is the first major announcement of this phenomena; however, I made such a pronouncement 10 days prior to that in my … (12 comments)
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Officially mother's day is just once a year - 05/10/08 10:19 PM
Officially it only comes once a year. so to all of the mothers on Active Rain, enjoy your day. But you are appreciated everyday. Sleep late. Go out to eat. Take the day off. Make a sale. Whatever works for you. Have a great day.
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For more information on my … (0 comments)
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Summer's Here - 05/10/08 02:00 PM
I know that many of you are enjoying very pleasant Spring days, but I think that Summer has arrived in South Florida. It climbing into the low 90s today - depending on which weatherman you believe. If it's still Spring where you are - or even snowing as I know it … (8 comments)
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The long and the short of it - 05/09/08 11:08 PM
On Wednesday, I posted a tribute to myself and all others who are 5'7" on the occasion of the day being "5/7" (May 7th). I received some wonderful comments, and a few "short" jokes - but that's to be expected (it's fine really). Well, it's a good thing some of us … (2 comments)
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Lessons from a watched pot - 05/08/08 10:36 AM
We all know - or at least we've been told - that a watched pot doesn't boil. It's not really important why that seems to be the case - it's just a convenient segue into something this reminded me of. I was having a phone conversation earlier today and the person … (12 comments)
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It must be nice ... - 05/07/08 04:59 PM
It must be nice to have nothing to do but sit around and wait for the appointed time. Earlier this afternoon, I went online to check-in for my flight tomorrow. You can check-in 24 before departure on most airlines, and I think that this is a great feature.
Well, 7 minutes after … (0 comments)
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Wow, a date that matches my height - 05/07/08 01:05 PM
Call me wacky - I look for and find funny things in normal events. Take today for example - May 7th, also known as 5/7. That's fine because that sounds an awful lot like my height. When you're relatively short, you look for any excuse to "brag" about your height. Here's … (13 comments)
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But are you sure? - 05/06/08 04:54 PM
I just received a solicitation call from a company that I don't dislike - I just choose not to support them right now. OK, so you get calls, too.
The funny part - I'm getting to that - is that they have called every day since April 25th. Most of the time … (10 comments)
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Communication isn't always as easy as it seems - 05/05/08 09:48 AM
Last week I had some out-patient surgery done at the hospital, and the hospital - with their ever vigilant security - kept asking me questions about my name, condition, birthdate, and similar information to make sure I was alert and that they were treating the right person.
During one of these give-and-takes, I … (16 comments)
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Poor Old Abe - 05/04/08 11:12 AM
Have you seen the new $5 bill yet? I hadn't until the other day. Didn't even know about it. It looks like a mistake.
In addition to everything else they've been doing to the currency, including imbedding phrases and changing and adding images on the face, now they turned to the obverse … (18 comments)
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Size does matter - 05/03/08 09:41 AM
In an interesting twist on an oft-emphasized subject, size really does matter - but in this case not the large size but the smaller variety.
In a world of rather tall people (not me - I'm just 5' 7"), isn't it interesting that all of the prize money and all of the … (6 comments)
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A branding lesson from horseracing - 05/03/08 09:30 AM
With today's Kentucky Derby kicking off the Triple Crown racing series and focusing the athletic world on horseracing for the next few weeks, I began thinking about how good of a job the stables have done with branding.
Think about it. All you have to do is look at the "silks" to … (6 comments)
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And they're off ... - 05/03/08 09:22 AM
Later this afternoon, they'll be running the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville - the first Saturday in May (I know, is it that time already?).
Good luck to all the horses - and trainers, jockeys, and fans.
Funny thing about the Kentucky Derby - as in other races and monumental activities … (8 comments)
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Think you've seen everything? - 05/02/08 11:09 AM
Here's a new one for you - a true story. A couple is all set to write a purchase agreement on their new home when they have to withdraw because their minister - who recently decided to start building homes on the side - told them that they must buy from … (20 comments)
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Oh no, not another post on gas prices - 05/02/08 10:41 AM
No, this is not that kind of post. I hate high gas prices as much - or more - than anyone else, but I accept them as a cost of doing business - partly because I don't have a choice in how much it costs and I need to use it. … (17 comments)
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Reflections on a Maypole dance - 05/01/08 11:30 AM
For a quick stroll down memory lane ... does anyone else remember decorating a Maypole on May 1st on the school playground with crepe paper steamers and dancing around it with the boys on one side and the girls on the other? How about those May baskets we made out of … (0 comments)
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