ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Get Local For Results
- 05/04/26 08:28 PM
Tonight was a sandwich night, but not a throw some lunch meat on Wonderbread kind of night.
There's a nearby farmer's market shop that offers local goods, so this weekend we bought a sourdough boule made by a local baker (filtered water, bread flour and mineral salt...that's the ENTIRE ingredient list), some jalapeno flavored pimento cheese from a small batch maker just over the Ohio River, and bacon from a local farmer we bought months back. The only exception to being locally sourced was an avocado from Mexico (sorry, but Ohio is just not famous for growing that particular item). Toasted the … (15 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: It All Started Here
- 04/27/26 08:51 PM
We've been in the Rain for almost 20 years. A lot has changed in those years. Maybe there's not as many people actively blogging and maybe comment counts are down, and maybe SEO isn't what it used to be, and it's probably been over a decade since the last time I saw a post hijacked.
But what hasn't changed is relationships that last decades can be formed here. The early days of learning to blog, sharing the latest real estate tips, learning about each other on a personal basis, all that provided a solid foundation to develop both professional and personal bonds. … (19 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Bring Your "A" Game
- 04/13/26 09:06 PM
Tonight my favorite hockey team was eliminated from playoff contention. They lost control of their own fate and had to rely on the team above them losing, and the other team didn't lose. Close the book on this year's edition and hope for better next year.
The fans can point to many things with our amateur's understanding of the sport, but one thing you don't have to be a professional to understand is that the margin between winning and losing is often razor thin. How many pucks hit the iron with that loud KLANG sound throughout the season, some go in, some … (17 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Making Adjustments
- 03/23/26 08:33 PM
Our Chihuahua Bunny is now 16 years old. She's long retired from her award winning days as a therapy dog. She and Liz made a great team visiting hospice, schools, VA medical centers and other places in need.
The picture was taken some years back. Now, Bunny's eyes are a bit cloudy. While she's not totally blind, she doesn't have much vision left, but her hearing still picks up an American Cheese slice wrapper crinkle from across the house :)
There's a hitch in her giddy up too, so she gets chiropractic adjustments. And the potty break area for the dogs? Out the … (19 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: I've Got An Idea
- 03/09/26 07:19 PM
We had a great spring-like weekend recently, and some of our kitty condo townhomes (1 bedroom, 1 bath, unlimited food and water provided) needed a little cleaning. Take the extra stuff out (including the cats) and wheel the condos out to the back deck for a good blast with the pressure washer.
It doesn't take long to get them blasted off, but that leaves a lot of water in the base pan and on the steel. Not hot and sunny enough for the water to evaporate quickly, and can't say the idea of toweling everything down was appealing, so why not take … (21 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Secrets To Climbing The Leaderboard
- 03/04/26 04:49 PM
Caring about points and spots on the Leaderboard range from 0 to 10,000 on a 100 point scale (translation, some care not even a little, and IMO some care WAY, WAY too much).
Some will have the epiphany that it's not the points, but the results of gaining those points that matter. Blog posts making laps out in the WWW just waiting to be found by the right person who needs that agent's help. It's a matchmaker business, I'll tell you about the type of home I want to sell and the type of buyer I'm trying to work with (no, those … (25 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Not Every Point Is Equal
- 03/02/26 08:49 PM
Some people in the Rain are all about that Point life. Working to be #1 on the Leaderboard is a vital activity. Blog, comment, reblog, follow, repeat the cycle every chance and maximize the point total.
Kat Palmiotti recently wrote a post about earning points in ActiveRain and the value of participation in the community.
To be blunt, HOW you earn your points probably matters far more than how many you have.
Points (at least after you reach 500,000 and get a free Rainmaker account) are by themselves of no value. The only value they have is what we personally put on them and … (25 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: A Spark To Start
- 02/23/26 05:04 PM
If my lawn mower is acting up, one of the things to check is the spark plug. Small engines need fuel, air and ignition, and without a good spark plug that combustion triangle isn't going to be complete.
Blogging is much the same, there are different components that influence how easily we can create a post regularly. There needs to be a willing blogger, a means to publish, and an idea. If you're reading this, we're going to assume you're willing to post, and ActiveRain provides a means, so now all we need is an idea.
Where do post ideas come from?
Literally, EVERYWHERE, … (14 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: When The Niche Misses
- 02/16/26 08:19 PM
Our favorite food truck started off as a regular restaurant closer to downtown Cincinnati. However being a restaurant, even one that makes fantastic food, is a competitive business with thin margins, so a big rent increase meant the end of the brick and mortar version and a pivot to the world of food trucks.
Now there's a huge difference in population from the immediate burbs of Cincinnati to our town halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton. The population of Lebanon is about 21,000 and growing. There are plenty of new subdivisions coming in the adjacent areas, and a decent number of restaurants of … (10 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Bits & Pieces
- 02/07/26 07:08 PM
Last week I had a new buyer lead, or at least that's what they would have had me think. They'd found us on Zillow and would like help buying a home. The initial email was a bit general (in Ohio, nowhere specific mentioned) so my sensors were on alert. A quick follow up email and a quick response from them confirmed: SCAMMERS. How did I know so easily? Because recently Margaret Rome wrote a post about scammers using a request link for a Zoom meeting, the exact same tactic these "buyers" wanted to use. I noped out of that conversation. Time … (21 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Routine Business
- 02/02/26 09:08 PM
It's 11:34 p.m. Monday evening as I pop open the blogging editor for ActiveRain. It's probably a bit later than I should be getting started, but blogging is part of my weekly routine and this is a MUST on my weekly to do list. It's been months since I last wrote an Ask An Ambassador post on a Tuesday, instead preferring to draft a post on Monday evening and use the Scheduler feature to have it publish around 8 a.m. EST. Tuesday.
While my schedule may not be quite as filled with routines as it was when I had to put in … (16 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Past Results Don't Guarantee Future Performance
- 01/26/26 09:16 PM
Living just north of Cincinnati, really heavy snows have been infrequent. A few inches at a time and we can usually just drive in and out of our driveway with no trouble. When it goes a bit deeper I can break out the snowblower to clear the couple of hundred feet and the turnaround pad. Bundle up as best I can and I know the wind is going to have me coated before I'm done.
Most years the snowblower fires up without much difficulty. Last year wasn't one of those years and I learned some lessons about small engine repair and that … (16 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: One Last Play
- 01/12/26 08:00 PM
It's football playoff season, and both college and NFL are giving us games to watch. It's win or go home. A lot can happen in the last two minutes, and I've seen the endings of a number of games come down to one last play. The coach looks through their playbook and calls the play that gives the team the best chance for a win. Maybe it's a throw to the end zone, or a field goal kicker booting the ball, and a chance for someone to be the hero or the goat.
Now in real estate, there's no end of season. … (12 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: We're All On Candid Camera
- 01/05/26 07:21 PM
About a month ago we bought a cell phone capable security camera and shipped it to my brother-in-law to install on the front of our garage. Frankly, our new home has taken MUCH longer than anticipated to complete, and since we're over 400 miles away, we wanted the ability to check in and keep an eye on the place as it gets closer to finished. For the cost of the camera and the service plan, we can now take a look 24 hours a day, get alerts when the camera detects motion, go live view and point the camera and take … (20 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Perspective Check
- 12/29/25 08:36 PM
It was a bit of a late choice, but Christmas Eve we decided to order enough take-out from our favorite Chinese restaurant to get us through a couple of days. We weren't traveling for Christmas and with just the two of us a full scale Christmas Day dinner just wasn't in the cards. We'd called earlier in the day to verify their hours and whether they'd be open on Christmas Day (nope), so around 4:20 pm I called in our order with a 5 pm. pick-up promised. It's about a 40 minute drive (and worth it, this isn't your typical generic … (14 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Names & Paper Trails
- 12/22/25 07:37 PM
Between my Navy days and the decades that followed working for a Fortune 50 company (BTW, I didn't leave out a 0), I learned a few things.
On my first ship I worked for a Chief Engineer who basically operated on the principle that if you don't have the name of who you talked to, the conversation may as well have never happened. You can't hold unknown people accountable. Get a name, take notes, and "circle back" if needed.
Not everything about my following life in Corporate America was totally different. The importance of knowing who you talked to, what the commitments were, … (12 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Effortless
- 12/15/25 07:35 PM
effortless: requiring no physical or mental exertion
At risk of sounding like I'm ranting, but sometimes customer service is effortless, and not in a good way, with an emphasis on putting the LESS in effortless.
I use USPS Informed Delivery, so every morning I get an email with pictures of the day's expected delivery. Recently I was expecting a signature required delivery and there it was in the morning email. Delivery comes that afternoon I get the "sorry we missed you while you were out" slip in the mailbox. Except I was never out, not even for a minute. The driveway alarm never … (18 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: How Do You Choose?
- 12/08/25 07:43 PM
Last week I mentioned that after a tree fell down in our yard, there were multiple directions I could have taken for my weekly post. It's not uncommon to have choices, so how do you decide what to blog about?
Your methodology may vary, but here's a glimpse into my mental process.
First, what ideas do I have worth the time? Figuring 20-30 minutes per post, sometimes more, is there a good potential return? Will the output be the equivalent of newspaper on the bottom of a bird cage, or something that will produce good results for a long time?
Who's the audience? Consumer? … (16 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: When The Support Falls
- 11/30/25 07:42 PM
After a day of high winds, the next morning I looked out our front door and a tree had fallen alongside our driveway. We're surrounded by woods, so blocked driveways and crushed landscaping isn't a new thing for us. I have a small battery chain saw and the more powerful gas fueled chain saw depending on the size of the job. While this wasn't a huge tree, it was definitely time for the bigger saw. First things first, a sharp chain was needed as after a few too many dips into the dirt clearing a stump had dulled the blade. I … (22 comments)
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ask an ambassador: Ask An Ambassador: Why Participate in the Rain?
- 11/24/25 07:31 PM
19 years since we signed up for ActiveRain, and we're still here.
A lot of faces have come and gone, and the days of Bob and Kerrie are long gone too. The community more or less sustains itself while Ben keeps the lights on and the doors open.
SEO isn't what it used to be, whether that's due to not having enough internal ooomph to keep Google happy, or due to the fact that competition is exponentially higher than it was over a decade back when pretty much anything could index and rank highly within moments. Now between the big gorilla portals and … (17 comments)
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Tonight was a sandwich night, but not a throw some lunch meat on Wonderbread kind of night.
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