A good friend, David, at The Nettle told me about Feedburner and so I signed up for it - it adds 'stuff' to your Blog...
One of the things it provides is a button leading to your Blog that you can put on a webpage - so I put it on the 'About Protectics' page - it's cute!!!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
The quest for efficiency
Well the weekend is over and it's back to work...
First on my to-do list is a massive restructuring of the way we store information on our computer network to make it more centralised and efficient.
Then I've got to look at redesigning the site index that I have on the Protectics website, I've decided that it is one of the most ugly webpages I've ever produced. To see what I mean, have a look at http://www.protectics.co.uk/sitemap.html - The only problem is that I know that whilst this is important it's not critical - so if more urgent matters crop up there is a chance that it will slip down my to-do list.
However there are plans afoot to tidy up the to-do list. I'm upgrading from ACT! v6 to v7 and I should get delivery within a day or two. I'm gradually implementing a plan I decided upon a week or so ago to put EVERYTHING into ACT! - so the theory is - no more papers on my desk awaiting further information or action - they will be indexed and filed and then totally managed by ACT!
In case you wonder why I'd want to do all this, it's because I think that it will make me a % point or two more efficient - that translates to about three to five days a year FREE from admin and available for work or play...
First on my to-do list is a massive restructuring of the way we store information on our computer network to make it more centralised and efficient.
Then I've got to look at redesigning the site index that I have on the Protectics website, I've decided that it is one of the most ugly webpages I've ever produced. To see what I mean, have a look at http://www.protectics.co.uk/sitemap.html - The only problem is that I know that whilst this is important it's not critical - so if more urgent matters crop up there is a chance that it will slip down my to-do list.
However there are plans afoot to tidy up the to-do list. I'm upgrading from ACT! v6 to v7 and I should get delivery within a day or two. I'm gradually implementing a plan I decided upon a week or so ago to put EVERYTHING into ACT! - so the theory is - no more papers on my desk awaiting further information or action - they will be indexed and filed and then totally managed by ACT!
In case you wonder why I'd want to do all this, it's because I think that it will make me a % point or two more efficient - that translates to about three to five days a year FREE from admin and available for work or play...
Saturday, April 16, 2005
My monthly newsletter
Since May of 2001, I spend a couple of days every month writing a newsletter with hints and tips on the management of Anger, Aggression, Violence and Stress. It goes out via email and is published on my website.
It's hard work but very rewarding. However I am thinking of changing the format to make it a smaller newsletter which is published more often...
I find it really interesting that in running a sucessful business there is a constant striving to improve what you do. It's no good being excellent, that's yesterday's blog entry :) you have to be better...
Oh, by the way if you are interested here's where you signup if you want the newsletter.
It's hard work but very rewarding. However I am thinking of changing the format to make it a smaller newsletter which is published more often...
I find it really interesting that in running a sucessful business there is a constant striving to improve what you do. It's no good being excellent, that's yesterday's blog entry :) you have to be better...
Oh, by the way if you are interested here's where you signup if you want the newsletter.
Friday, April 15, 2005
Tidying my desk
So the weekend is fast approaching and I have decided that during the weekend I will tidy my desk.
It's a strange thing...
I have this resolve to deal with things as they arise so as to keep my desk neat and tidy. However many of the letters and brochures that clutter my desk at the moment fall into the category of interesting but complicated...
I hope that you know what I mean, things that you want to deal with but they require research or deliberation - so they get put on the desk, then it becomes a pile of things on the desk and then it becomes a nightmare... I get to the stage where I figure that if I leave it alone it will pass it's 'sell by' date and then I can just throw everything away...
Of course the downside is that you miss good opportunities.
So, I'm going to try something new...
I am a great devotee of a software PIM called ACT! which I've used for many many years (indeed before Windows back in the days of DOS) and from now on every piece of pending mail is going to get filed into an ACT! record called 'To Action' so that I can put in a dated reminder (to myself) to look at the particular item and action it...
Will it work? We will see...
It's a strange thing...
I have this resolve to deal with things as they arise so as to keep my desk neat and tidy. However many of the letters and brochures that clutter my desk at the moment fall into the category of interesting but complicated...
I hope that you know what I mean, things that you want to deal with but they require research or deliberation - so they get put on the desk, then it becomes a pile of things on the desk and then it becomes a nightmare... I get to the stage where I figure that if I leave it alone it will pass it's 'sell by' date and then I can just throw everything away...
Of course the downside is that you miss good opportunities.
So, I'm going to try something new...
I am a great devotee of a software PIM called ACT! which I've used for many many years (indeed before Windows back in the days of DOS) and from now on every piece of pending mail is going to get filed into an ACT! record called 'To Action' so that I can put in a dated reminder (to myself) to look at the particular item and action it...
Will it work? We will see...
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Lots of work
Been busy with lots of things the last day or so...
Updates to the way I market and promote my websites and a rewrite of my website at www.linkcloaker-express.com
I've also been looking at some software that lets me turn PowerPoint presentations into interactive flash animations - but it's not quite what I'm looking for
Anyway I'm looking forward to a hard physical workout tonight - I teach Karate Jutsu on a Thursday night and it's a wonderful reliever for business pressures.
Updates to the way I market and promote my websites and a rewrite of my website at www.linkcloaker-express.com
I've also been looking at some software that lets me turn PowerPoint presentations into interactive flash animations - but it's not quite what I'm looking for
Anyway I'm looking forward to a hard physical workout tonight - I teach Karate Jutsu on a Thursday night and it's a wonderful reliever for business pressures.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
GONG and FOOD
My wife and I spent the evening at a meeting of Gary Outrageous's GONG and heard a great presentation by Guy Levine on how to make money on the Internet via the niche products and Google Adwords route... Guy is very clever and talks a lot of sense.
On the way back we had an EXCELLENT Indian meal in Northampton at Indian Paradise - check it out if you get the chance.
We had
Poodina Gosht - Minted lamb cooked with honey, lemon juice and selected spices .
and
Samber - An old favourite from Southern India, Chicken cooked with a lentil base. Using an arrangement of spices that are blended together with crushed pineapple and lemon, to give a sharp and distinctive flavour of Madras strength.
YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!
On the way back we had an EXCELLENT Indian meal in Northampton at Indian Paradise - check it out if you get the chance.
We had
Poodina Gosht - Minted lamb cooked with honey, lemon juice and selected spices .
and
Samber - An old favourite from Southern India, Chicken cooked with a lentil base. Using an arrangement of spices that are blended together with crushed pineapple and lemon, to give a sharp and distinctive flavour of Madras strength.
YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!!
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Recent projects...
I'm quite proud of a recent project - a software program called Linkcloaker-Express which I wrote in the .php language. It allows people who use links (especially affiliate links) to cloak links to stop people stealing from them or more simply to allow them to use shorter links. It also features some nice reporting options so that the user can see which links are getting clicked on.
I originally wrote it for my own use but then realised that it was useful enough to sell. So I set up a website at www.linkcloaker-express.com and it's started to gain a following...
One thing that I have done - which I wish more software authors would do - is to guarantee lifetime updates for free. If after you buy and register the program I make any changes (which I am doing) then registered users get the update for free.
I get really irked when you have to pay for a program over and over and over again...
I originally wrote it for my own use but then realised that it was useful enough to sell. So I set up a website at www.linkcloaker-express.com and it's started to gain a following...
One thing that I have done - which I wish more software authors would do - is to guarantee lifetime updates for free. If after you buy and register the program I make any changes (which I am doing) then registered users get the update for free.
I get really irked when you have to pay for a program over and over and over again...
Business as usual
After spending the last few days trying to fix a problem that had stopped Word and Publisher working on various PCs on my network I finally fixed things by deleting ALL my printer drivers and then reinstalling them. YIPPEE Word and Publisher back to normal and not a minute too soon as I needed to print out some leaflets promoting my business Protectics Limited for a meeting tonight.
The error looked like a virus or worm as it spread to multiple computers - it must be a function of Windows XP networking that each machine on the network checks all resources and if a printer driver is corrupt - then you have TROUBLE!!!!
The error looked like a virus or worm as it spread to multiple computers - it must be a function of Windows XP networking that each machine on the network checks all resources and if a printer driver is corrupt - then you have TROUBLE!!!!
1st post
Well here I am...
Small problem - don't know quite how I got here or what my user name or password are - but no doubt I'll find a way to retrieve them...
Small problem - don't know quite how I got here or what my user name or password are - but no doubt I'll find a way to retrieve them...
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