Terribly Homesick.

I've been browsing for office decorations. I started looking for city skylines, and came across a Minneapolis skyline that showcased the metrodome. At that point, I realized I'm terribly homesick for the twin cities.

Three good quotes on finances

Three quotes from my youth have been haunting my dreams lately:
1. "You don't have to be smart to spend money." My dad got this from my grandfather. I'm not sure who he got it from, but he did grow up in the depression and was very hard struck by it. Most likely, this was a common catch phrase.

2. "The universal law of economics: Your standard of living will rise to meet your income." I hope I always (note: I didn't say I hope I can, because 99% of people can!) will discipline myself to live significantly below my income!

3. "Live like no one else now so you can live like no one else later." The great Dave Ramsey says this often.

That said about Dave Ramsey, I really need to go back and read some of Larry Burkett's writings - he was preaching the truth when Dave Ramsey was still going through bankruptcy!

It's a Mystery to Me

So, I sold a very nice dealer in Virginia an engine for a 2005 Cadillac DeVille. Super nice guy, really enjoyed talking to him. We agreed he'd overnight a check and we'd get it on the road to him.

Called two days later to let him know we hadn't gotten the check, and he let me know he'd sent it regular mail. That's fine by me, but:
1. It's not as secure of a way to send a check
2. There is no tracking number
3. It flat out takes longer, and I'm sure this guy wants to move this car!

Oh well, not my lot. I just hope the check makes it here!

Family Businesses: Good and Bad

Sitting here on hold as I try to get work done for another member of my family in our family business, I'm about as angry as I can be, which is not typical, but does happen from time to time. In a family business, moods seem to be dependent on what people eat for breakfast.

A few observations:
1. Never "bushwhack" someone right away as they come in for work.
2. Never make an accusation and then try to act like you were just asking a probing question to see if there was something you should be worried about.
3. It is unfair to think that when someone works until 11:00 at night doing something for you, they will always want to do this.
4. When you tell someone you want to talk to them, and thus use their time, it is courteous to set an agenda. Blind shotgun conversations are stupid and ineffective, and only very poor leaders waste their time and the time of their subordinates with this type of idiocy.
5. To quote the worn out phrase that everyone should know, but that everyone does not yet know: Failure to plan is planning to fail.

Eat it.

Fender Bender... not in my car!

I had a fender bender this morning and I wasn't in my car... I was in Sarah's! She's been great about the whole thing - she didn't yell or cry. I want her to feel like she can cry to me about things, but she was very calm about this whole thing, which is amazi(ng).

If an insurance company were to repair it I would estimate the damage at about 3k... but I'm hoping to get everything fixed for around 800. Pray that this happens!

What to pack?

I'm heading to North Carolina for the weekend to visit my girlfriend. I'll be staying with one of her friends and know it's going to be a blast - I'm really looking forward to seeing her.

Big fear: Whenever I travel, I'm scared I'll forget something important, whether it be a toothbrush, shirt, etc.

Here's hoping I don't forget everything!

What's The Deal With Numpad and Phone Pad

It is very counterintuitive that the phone keys and the numpad on a keyboard are in reverse order.

I hate this, and am trying to figure out a workaround.

Nortel BCM50 - Interesting Learning Curve

For those of you who are "in the know" I recently purchased a very nice phone system for our company. I've been learning to configure it, and let me tell you, this has been a task. The capabilities of the system are very impressive, but to use them I've had to pour over several 200+ page instruction manuals. To be honest, I enjoy part of this, but what I hate is that to really learn, one has to experiment. If I do something stupid, that risks our entire phone system, and thus our connection to our customer.

And the customer comes first!

Burger King Has No BK Mocha Joe's

So for the third day in a row the Burger King ("King" ha!) has no BK Mocha Joe's! That's right - they're "all out!"

I don't buy it for a minute - I think they just don't stock it in the ghetto and need to stop advertising it in their drive through. I'll just go ahead and buy it at a nice burger king, by my house, and leave this one to selling fish fillets.

Out!