Archive for May, 2006
You could probably tell from the previous post that I’ve been shopping around for homes. It’s been quite a trip so far.
As a first-time home buyer, the crash course in everything from loans to taxes has been nothing short of extraordinary. 2 weeks ago, I didn’t know the difference between discount points and origination points. Now? I could go on about the benefits of a 80% 7/1 interest-only ARM + 20% 15/30 fixed balloon. It’s scary. But, it’s important stuff. You become an expert out of necessity.
We ended up signing the papers last night with a builder. The whole process took about an hour to complete. It was, surprisingly, a very enjoyable experience. We were quite happy with the neighborhood, amenities, location, lot, etc – so no surprise there. But what made the moment was that we had the convenience of going through the signing process at our own pace. It just so happened that our son was with us at the time, and most parents understand that it’s very difficult to get a 2 1/2-year old to sit still for an hour. Fortunately, the sales office offered a little kids’ desk in the corner — complete with a Lego top, mesh baskets of Lego pieces, and wooden cars. The boy was hooked…he sat there and played quietly until the last paper was signed.
From a business perspective, having a place for kids to entertain themselves totally makes sense. To these builders, families are a core customer, and you should be providing them the tools necessary to keep them satisfied. How much did that kids’ desk cost, 50 bucks? And how much value does it bring in on a daily basis? Orders of magnitude.
Satisfied kids = satisfied parents = satisfied customers = loyal customers.
May 25th, 2006
Due to semi-popular demand from my previous Wordpress plugin, Post, Upload, and Paste Plugin for Wordpress 1.5, I’d decided to update the plugin to work in Wordpress 2.0.x. (The original plugin didn’t exact work out of the box, but the changes were fairly easy.)
The link: Post, Upload, and Paste Plugin for Wordpress 2.0.x
Install instructions (these have changed in the new version):
- First you must download, install, and activate the Old-Style Upload Plugin. This plugin restores the upload setting screens from Wordpress 1.5.
- Check your upload settings to make sure you have the ability to upload.
- Download my plugin and unzip in the
/wp-content/plugins directory.
- Change permissions on the 2 files that were extracted,
post-upload-and-paste.php and upload_popup.php (744 is fine)
- Move
upload_popup.php to the /wp-admin directory.
- Activate your plugin!
If you’re using this plugin, then you probably understand that it only works in non-Rich Text mode, and doesn’t work at all in Safari.
Changes since the last release:
- Removed the pup folder
- Updated permission settings given in instructions
- Added instructions to install Old-Style Upload Plugin
Known issues and things to improve:
- Blogs in subfolders still might be a bit buggy…I host mine on the root folder, sorry.
- Links to original pics from thumbnails. (Wordpress never supported this in the old screens, but seems reasonable to employ)
As always, please leave comments below for questions and problems related to this plugin.
May 13th, 2006
People who know me already know that I’m a freak about being paperless.
- At work, my client kills a lot of trees with work order documentation. I mean A LOT. Hundreds of thousands of pages a month. They are very popular with several mobile recycling companies. Part of my job is coming up with ways to reduce or eliminate the senseless massacre, so safe to say I think about paperless from time to time.
- At school, my professors distribute lecture notes in PowerPoint format. Most of my classmates print out the notes, then annotate them during class. I type them directly into the PowerPoint notes field on my laptop. Sooo much nicer — the files are digital, so they’ll live a longer life, plus they’re relevant to the material (vs. a Word doc that lives side-by-side). Best of all, they’re searchable. Searchable! Think about that for a second. Ten years from now, all the information I’ve ever kept on the Loanable Funds framework will be at my fingertips.
- At home, I signed up for paperless billing from my bank and credit cards. Not everyone bills paperless, but I wish they did. I can’t stand paper bills…you open them up, then put it down somewhere, but if you don’t keep it in the same place you keep the other bills, you’ll never see it again. You might as well shred it.
- For To-do lists, chores, and all the little stuff, I’ll use whiteboards (not electronic, but better than paper) or store them on my Treo 650.
Still, I keep a bunch of papers in file folders that have some necessity. Medical info, shot records, travel stuff, legal papers, etc. They’re important to have, but the only reason I keep them is to show them to someone else, usually by fax.
Case in point. I’m buying a house, and the loan officer I’m working with asks me to fax over some bank documents. I have them of course…in hard copy…at home. And of course, it’s Friday and I’m leaving for a business trip all next week. Geez.
It’s times like this that kick your motivation into another gear. That last wall is tumbling down, by God! Today, I learned how to use the magnificent scan-to-email function on the office printer. File folder, I’m giving you notice….your time is short.
May 5th, 2006
