Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Warning - Spokeo has your personal data spread out for all to see

A friend just sent me an email to warn me about a new kind of search engine and suggested that I look myself up on it. It freaked me out that so much personal information was so readily available.

It is Spokeo.com and if you are on it you can kiss your privacy good bye. You enter you name and you may find more information about your relationships, your home, your income, and your exact location than you will feel comfortable with.

Here is an example of what your basic information might look like if your name was Bart Simpson.


Here is what another Bart Simpson's house looks like with more information than you would expect to see.

If you own a pellet stove, you need to know Josh Muncy

A pellet stove is one of the most sophisticated wood-burning devices I have ever run across. It provides even heat under thermostatic control and you only load it once a day even in the coldest weather. That's the good part and is why so many owners swear by their pellet stoves.

But...

Owning a pellet stove is somewhat like owning a Jaguar. The performance is marvelous, but you need to know a capable mechanic to keep it in tune. Once set up, they will run for months without needing maintenace, but they can fail on you without giving any warning.

That's where Josh Muncy comes in. He lives in Floyd County, in the town of Check and he has recently set up his own HVAC business after years of working at Blue Ridge Heating and Air. Blue Ridge is known for having really good products but the main reason I patronized them was because  Josh did their servicing.

No matter what problem our pellet stove developed, Josh was able to diagnose and handle it. There were never any callbacks because something had stopped working again. If Josh fixed it, it stayed fixed. That has not been the case with any other service technician.

Josh Muncy has been a real life saver for us and I want to spread the word that he is still in the HVAC and pellet stove business but on his own terms.

If you depend on a pellet stove for heat and you live anywhere near Floyd or Montgomery Counties, you need to copy this card image and tape it to the lid of your pellet stove.

The new age of Do-It-Yourself hard drive data recovery

 When your laptop or desktop computer dies, you can recover the data yourself.

In the recent past, when your computer crashed, you had to hunt down a professional to recover the data from the hard drive.

That is no longer the case. There are several handy units available which make hard drive data recovery a relatively straightforward task.

The 80 GB drive shown here was pulled out of a laptop that crashed a few weeks ago. The motherboard failed and much of the data on the hard drive was scrambled.

I Googled "hard drive data recovery" and plugged in details like 2.5 inch SATA HDD until I discovered a handy video showing me how to recover data using a device like the one shown below.


This particular device is a BlackX SATA and USB docking station made by Thermaltake. The hard drive plugs into the top of the unit and a USB cable connects the unit to a computer on which you are running a program like Disk Doctor.

Disk Doctor recovers the files from the damaged hard drive and stores them where you can organize them and put them back in use. Disk Doctor is not included when you purchase the BlackX unit.

The big advantage of units like BlackX is that you don't have to open up your computer and fiddle around with hard drive cables to recover data from another hard drive. The BlackX unit acts like a docking station for the recovered hard drive and allows your computer to access the data easily. Once the damaged hard drive has been reformatted, it can be left in the docking station and used as a spare drive if desired.

The unit is quite small so it can be stored away quite conveniently until the time your next hard drive fails. The cost is quite reasonable as you can buy it for $34.99 on Amazon.com. If you have multiple computer systems, one of these and a Disk Doctor program are an excellent investment for continuing peace of mind.

If your computers are more than four years old, your hard drives may be living on borrowed time. Backup storage is one solution, but recovery software and hardware similar to those  mentioned in this article will protect you against random catastrophic failures that can put you out of business for weeks.

Relationships - the good, the bad, and the ugly

I have been talking to a number of people recently about what makes a wonderful relationship versus that which makes life a nightmare.

There are all sorts of opinions and about this matter and there are many different suggestions for the factors that are important in creating a lasting relationship.

Having been involved in many relationships over a very long period of time, I have come to the realization that there is one thing more important than compatibility, mutual attraction, similar cultural backgrounds, education, etc., etc. and that is the level of integrity possessed by the parties involved.

Integrity is a wholeness of character. It can be seen in these actions:

A. Promising only what you intend to deliver
B. Keeping your word once given
C. Following through so as to meet expectations

People who exhibit these traits give you a feeling of confidence that they can be trusted. Any falling away from these things creates a feeling of betrayal. There are three major conditions that can exist:

1. A person can keep all of these things in as a matter of personal honor. This person is a joy to know.

2. A person who makes promises with no understanding of what it takes to deliver is always letting others down, no matter how sincere they feel. Like a child promising to be good, the resolution may last only until temptation appears again. This person may be good-hearted but has never been trained to understand that integrity is all about keeping promises, As a result any relationship with this person is filled with disappointments.

3. Then there are those who will promise anything to get what they want from others and then completely blank out any thought of following through. That is a kind of insanity and they wreak havoc on the lives of others. They leave a trail of broken promises, unpaid debts, and criminal activities behind them. They are often great charmers with a wonderful way with words, but they never deliver the actions listed above. If you are associated with one of these people, your life is a constant mess of confusions and betrayals. This person creates only ugly relationships.

As you can tell by now, this data applies to both casual and intimate relationships. If you are having difficulty with a spouse or a business relationship, take a look and see if one of these conditions applies. It might help you sort out what is really going on.

If you have a disagreement with A, B, or C above, it may not be the other person who is creating the problem. :)

Hard times don't last - if we remember to vote wisely

One doesn't have to be the brightest student in class to see that our country has fallen upon hard times. Confidence in our elected representatives has never been lower. Frustration with the corruption in Washington and elsewhere has never been greater. Many of us are out of work or our customers are out of work which amounts to pretty much the same thing.

Out country is as close to bankruptcy as it has ever been, yet our leaders vote themselves healthy raises and take extended vacations on taxpayer money. There are some who claim to be ready to make the hard decisions that will put the country back on its feet economically and not continue borrowing money in hopes of "stimulating" the economy, but these new people are untested as yet and may turn out to be less effective than the incumbents.

Folks are divided between those who are hoping the government will bail them out and those who are looking for a foothold to begin bailing themselves out. As times get harder, more people opt to file for bankruptcy. They do not have the government option of printing more money.

So, what can we do as taxpayers and citizens? Take note of who has voted for increased government spending, unconstitutional acts, amnesty for illegal immigrants, and legislation that harms private enterprise. Their voting records or lack of them are available on the Internet. Vote against those who do not support your needs and ideals. Not every incumbent acts like they are a member of an elite class, there are some who are responsive to their constituents needs.

Deeds, not words are the keys to identifying those we should support in the next elections. You can find their voting records at these following links:

Some sites will list votes by representatives and other sites show all who voted on a particular measure.

Here for example is Rick Boucher's voting record posted by Project Vote Smart: http://tinyurl.com/28uhp62
And here is Rick's voting record at the Washington Post's Vote Database: http://tinyurl.com/27klkh3

If you are looking for information about the bills that were passed and who voted for them, this list of Roll Call Votes posted by the Library of Congress provides that data: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/rollcallvotes.html

If there were bills passed that affect you and your family negatively, you can find out who voted against your interests and take appropriate action.

Past, present, or future, what is your attention on?

If you dwell in the past, documenting it, glorifying it, and celebrating it, you have a wealth of material to work with.

Many people are afraid of losing touch with the past, memories of good times, past glory and all that so there is always a place for those who write lovingly of days gone by, old customs and people who made their mark in history.

There will always be a demand for those who can write about the beautiful sadness of lost dreams and fond memories of old friends. I am sure that photos of country roads with old barns will still be in demand as we enter the 22nd Century.

On the other hand, there are those who keep a close watch on the present and fill every day with motion and immediate results. Carpe diem is more than an abstract idea for them, it is a religion.

These people see governmental corruption, climate change, and financial system meltdowns as a series of snapshots of business opportunities or alternatively as a reason to enjoy what can be enjoyed and take life as it comes.

For these individuals, the beautiful sadness of the past and the uncertainties of the future are of little concern. They run with the motto of "Git 'er done" or "It will all work out somehow!" Either way, they are living each moment to the hilt, regardless of what has happened or will happen.

Some are cursed with attention fixed on the future. No matter how well things have gone or are going, they are always preparing for every possibility that may happen. These people may find little to enjoy in life.

Others spend so much time preparing for the future that they neglect the present as a minor impediment to living a future dream. Their present life may be a shambles as their attention is fixed on achieving a distant dream

Preparing for the future is not a bad thing at all, only when carried to excess.

Attention on the future is what separates successful people from the vast number who wish that things had gone better for them. Having attention on the future involves deferring immediate satisfaction in order to achieve more lasting satisfaction later. The best examples of this are those who study in school or college instead of partying endlessly. They reap the benefits when it comes time to find employment or life partners.

There are benefits to these different ways of looking at life. Possibly the best approach is developing the ability to freely assume these different viewpoints as the need arises.

[photocredit http://www.tom-allan.co.uk/gallery1.htm#1]

A handy point and shoot camera for capturing blog images

Some years ago I realized that my camera needs would be satisfied by a reasonably capable point and shoot camera and I discarded my cameras with multiple lenses for this Sony F828 which has been a reliable workhorse for about six years.

All good things come to an end and my Sony started failing intermittently. When I discovered how expensive the repairs were and how poor the official Sony service centers were, I decided it was time to change camera brands.

Doug Thompson, a professional photographer, spoke highly of Canon service and reliability and my wife Gretchen has had excellent results with her Canon cameras, so I decided that I would find a Canon model that would give me good low light performance and would provide a zoom lens with at least 10X magnification.

There are so many models that it was hard to choose between them, but I ended up with a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS which has all the features I need for less than $400.

I won't bore you with specifications, but this is like having a camera attached to a 20X spotting scope. The magnification can be pushed to 80X with 20X optical and 4X electronic.

I discovered that I can shoot photos that look almost like macro shots except these are shot at distant targets.

Here are two views of our ice-covered gravel driveway and both shots were taken from the shelter of the front porch. The ice-covered gravel in the right hand image is from the center of the frame of the driveway image. You are seeing what ice covered pea-sized gravel looks like from 25 feet away.

In the two images below, you can see two views of an ice-covered tree about 20 feet away, both shot from the shelter of the front porch. The branch detail is from the upper left quadrant of the tree picture.

 

Camera evolution is proceeding at such a pace that I fully expect that this camera will be obsolete in a year or so. I can't imagine what the next few generation of consumer cameras will look like, but I can guess that they will provide a Bluetooth connection so that one will be able to shoot and post the image online in one operation and they will capture images in much lower light levels.

Stellar One goes the extra distance

This is a drive-thru window at the Stellar One Bank in Floyd, Virginia. It has all of the characteristics you would expect in an up and coming bank that is trying to create an outstanding customer experience.

Take this window as an example: a friendly welcoming smile on the face of the young lady, clear signage that can be easily read under all lighting conditions, and a bowl of lollipops for the children who accompany their parents to the bank.

This is a standard action by businesses that treat customers as people rather than as anonymous sources of income.

The extra touch that makes this Stellar One branch stand out in my opinion is shown in this next image.

While you are banking, your dog gets a treat!

I have it on good authority that the dogs perk up immediately when their owner drives up to this window. With this thoughtful gesture the Stellar One branch in Floyd has turned a routine bank visit into a special event for the entire family.

This bank provides good service in all the ways that matter to us so providing treats for children and the family dog is is not the only reason to bank here. It is another example of choosing to provide extraordinary customer experiences.

Any business that recognizes the importance of children and pets in their customers lives is treating customers as whole individuals. Granting importance to all aspects of a customer's life practically guarantees good referrals and customer loyalty.

I don't know if all branches of Stellar One are this customer oriented, but if not it is something they should consider.

Life has been interfering with blogging again

In a down economy where income can drop drastically overnight, small business owners like myself have to go from production mode to full-on promotional activity.. All non-income generating activity gets put on hold. Blogging is an incredibly satisfying and rewarding experience, but it does not produce income in the short term so it gets relegated to non prime time activity or never.

Promotion is the only way that new business relationships are created and it can take many forms. There is only so much advertising that one can do with limited funds, but there is almost no limit to the amount of personal contact that can be accomplished if one is sufficiently motivated.

About two months ago I figured out that customers still wanted custom picture framing, but most of them needed to feel that they were getting an amazing deal as well as an extraordinary buying experience in order to part with their dwindling disposable income.

After all, that was what I was doing and is what my friends are doing for almost every purchase. We still want the good things in life and are willing to do with a more economical version, but it takes a really special deal from a business we like dealing with to justify spending money.

So, I have been making friends with potential customers and have been promoting ways for them to save money on picture framing for several months and this activity has finally begun to produce results.

As I've mentioned before, promoting a business follows the well known Law of Ketchup. You promote and promote and it seems like nothing is happening until finally people show up in bunches and you are suddenly racing around like a madman trying to stay ahead of the rush.

I am enjoying the flood of work, but it has temporarily put a halt to my blogging. Lots of interesting things are happening in Floyd and I will do my best to catch up on those that are most interesting.

I hope to be back blogging next week. Stay tuned.

A simple and elegant solution to our kitchen faucet problem

After spending another two hours working on our sophisticated single handle kitchen faucet, I threw in the towel and bought this simpler and far more reliable alternative solution.

It took me only an hour and five minutes to install this faucet and that included rounding up tools and a caulking gun.

I had spent more then 10 hours trying to repair the old faucet including time on the phone with two suppliers. During that time, I tied up other people for another hour at least. The product complexity cost us all more than we expected. Furthermore, there were at least three different variations on the old product and each required different parts to repair them. I don't think I had the right parts I needed.

This was a clear case where product complexity produced a great looking product (Moen 7430) that was costly and difficult to repair.

The new two handled faucet(Peerless P999575-SS)has a side spray and has smooth acting ceramic valves and cost less than half what the single handled faucet did. It has nine parts compared to the 26 parts of the single handle faucet.

Most importantly, each of the operating parts performs a single function: Each faucet operates independently and controls the flow of water. The spout directs water and has no interaction with any of the other parts of the faucet. The side sprayer sprays water with no fancy diverter logic. Any one piece can fail without requiring the replacement of other pieces and this is typical of high reliability design.

Any design in which mechanisms perform multiple functions is promoting novelty over reliability. This is fine for products with a short life, but a real pain when applied to products that have to be repaired many times over their useful life. Simplify your life with appliances and household products designed for reliability

Thanks to Zack and to Glenn for suggesting a switch to a simpler model.