Upgrade to WordPress 2.3.2

WordPress has version 2.3.2 out and I suggest you download and install the update. This version has an important security fix. As you know, updating is really painless. All it will cost you is a little bit of time.

Vitalist Now Has a Jott Link

A while back, I rigged my Jott account to automatically add items into my Vitalist inbox. I just found out that the process has been made easier for users of Jott. Vitalist now has a link within Jott that simplifies the setup for you. I fell behind on reading RSS feeds, so only discovered this today. Way to go Vitalist!

Don’t Forget Your OpenID When Upgrading Your Template

Last night, I upgraded my template on this blog. PlainText went to 4.0 some time ago, so I had a couple minutes to spare I put to use. As always, upgrading on WordPress is very easy. I did, however, forget to update my OpenID links on the new template. I realized this when I tried commenting on somebody’s Blogger account. I tried it a couple times before it clicked that I had upgraded the template.

Twitter Tools Has Updated

Alex King has updated Twitter Tools to version 1.1b1 and is available for download. In case you haven’t seen it in action, Twitter Tools automatically gathers your Twitter messages and aggregates them into a blog post, or individual blog posts if you like. When WordPress upgraded to version 2.3, Twitter Tools broke. It continued to send a Twitter update every time you created a blog post, but it would not post your tweets at the end of the day. This new version should fix that issue. I’ll know for sure if it works tomorrow when it posts my tweets.

Tony and Ricky Visit for Christmas 2007

Click to Play

Merry Christmas

I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas. I hope you have a good time with your friends and family this season.

Find more videos like this on RGV Life

My Photo on Schmap Page for Barton Creek Greenbelt

Emma Williams, Managing Editor of Schmap, sent me a message on Flickr a while back asking if it would be OK to consider one of my photos for use on their site. The photo is to show some of the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, Texas. I’m cool with that, so I agreed. Today, I read that it made the final cut. That’s cool for a cameraphone photo. I used my T-Mobile Dash phone to take that photo.

Simplified Video Crunching and Distribution?

I was messing around with Ustream.tv when I noticed an ad on the side for Heywatch and Heyspread. I have used media-convert in the past to convert video free of charge. The downside of the free service is that there is no archival function. I’m willing to pay for conversion, but am generally adverse to monthly subscriptions. Hey!Watch overcomes this hesitation. You can buy credits for conversions. They charge 10 cents per conversion. The minimum amount of credits you can buy is 10, which comes out to $1. Of course, if you seriously want to use them for your work, you would stock up conversion credits. For me, it would help avoid having to buy video conversion software.

Hey!Spread is the technology that Ustream uses to syndicate your video content. So, that is another service that would come in handy. I figure I’ll use both in the future.

Test from mobile

Click to Play

I'm checking out mobile video on blip.tv

The State of Computer Services in South Texas

I have started working on bringing in business in earnest this week. I spent some time canvassing for business by handing out business cards. I tend to be shy, so it was nice to receive such positive responses from the people I visited. Things have certainly changed in the computer service field since I was last in it, back in 2001. Let me share with you what has changed.

First, local computer parts shops are virtually non-existent. They have gone out of business over the years. CompUSA was the last bastion of hope; but, they threw in the towel recently. So, if you are looking for parts, the only option remaining is to order online. This has a couple implications. First, you can’t sell stuff out of inventory because it’s likely you haven’t any. Carrying inventory is an unnecessary cost for an independent computer guy. Second, your chances of turning a computer job that requires parts around in a day or two are diminished.

Another change that I see happening is that techies are increasingly becoming “practitioners”. The local community college and University are churning out hundreds of tech students every semester. Yet, the number of tech “jobs” can’t keep up, locally. This does not mean that there is not enough demand for technical services. Many companies are hiring techs from San Antonio, which is 200 miles away. So, those of us with an entrepreneurial spirit are going to have to rely on our “bedside manner” and reputation to get business.

Overall, it seems like the computer service business is going in the direction of the individual practitioner rather than the computer business. Perhaps shops will adopt the model of beauty salons where the stylists rent their workspace on a weekly basis. Perhaps the local tech industry will go in the direction of subcontracting; one business rounds up the sales and subcontracts the work. I don’t know what will ultimately result; but, I do see that the industry is favoring the independent guy.

Chance Encounter

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

I was walking around town passing out business cards when I happened to come across former classmate Laura Perez and her family. They are opening up a shop on the corner of Conway and Kika de la Garza Loop. I am enjoying this whole concept of canvassing for business. It’s such a social activity.

On the Phone

Bert Ogden Body Shop Wasted a Week

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

I spent a week calling Mary at the Bert Ogden Body Shop in Mission, Texas. She did not return any of my phone calls. If she had, she could have told me that my insurance company, Fred Loya, had not released the van to them. Instead, I called the insurance to request changing shops. Mary did return their phone call right away. The claims adjuster apologized for her mistake and asked that I consider giving Bert Ogden Body Shop a chance since it wasn’t their fault the van had not been released. She was right; it wasn’t their fault.

Days later, I found out the van had still not been picked up. This was because I suggested changing shops. By the way, the receptionist told me this, Mary never returned my calls to tell me. So, I called the insurance company to ask them to resend the order. Only then did Mary call me to ask me to come sign some papers.

Face to Face

I suggested to her this moning at her office that she really should return my phone calls, she could have saved me a week without the van. The whole thing was stuck in limbo due to lack of communication. Even so, she did not seem to care. She just nodded and agreed, but did not inspire any confidence in her word.

At this point, I just want the van fixed. It has been almost a month. With the Holidays coming up, I don’t expect to have the van back before next year. I’m sure that ordering parts and installing them takes some time.

UPDATE

Word Got Around

I have spoken to the Bert Ogden Body Shop manager about the situation with my van. Things have gotten a bit nuts as a result of my blog posts. One of the managers in one of the other parts of the company Googled the words “Bert Ogden” and saw my blog post up there. He then called to find out what the problem is. I told him what happened. Then there were a series of phone calls coming from the company. In the end, they decided to not service my van due to what I have written. They are well within their rights to refuse service. I can understand that. When they called, however, I was busy with a client and could not discuss the situation with them.

My Mistake

I called back to find out their side of matter and to see what if anything could be done. I would like to write good things about Bert Ogden, I really would, but for me to do that I need a positive experience. I can tell you that I have part of the blame. I should have complained to the body shop manager that it was taking too long. Had I given him the opportunity to deal with the matter, maybe I’d have some resolution.

Lessons for Bert Ogden Family of Dealerships

As mentioned earlier, I do want to write good things about Bert Ogden Body Shop. I chose them because I truly believed in the company. I grew up watching commercials with Bert Ogden and his daughter. Their family is a true hometown success story. So, when the opportunity came to give them my business, I did not hesitate. I called in a while ago to see if anything could be done to repair the relationship, but the higher-ups have decided that it’s best not to deal with me. Now, I have to go find another body shop, which I’d already done anyway.

Despite the problems I’m going to help by providing a blueprint on how to deal with negative blog posts. First, don’t freak out. A negative blog post is a customer crying out that he or she is not satisfied. What you do is consider it a complaint like you would in person. If a customer complains to the manager, then the manager takes care of it, right? You do this because you don’t want that person to go tell friends and family about their bad experience. You try to turn it around by providing much better customer care so that the person can then say that your company had a little problem, but went out of your way to fix it.

A negative blog post works the same. Contact the blogger, find out the problem, and then fix the problem. Once they discovered my blog post, they could have turned the situation around and I’d be singing their praises for kicking it into gear. It would not erase the problem, but it would demonstrate that the company wants to do right by the customer. I would have written that I am impressed by their fast action once they learned about the problem. Instead, they called me up and told me that they will no longer provide me with service. Effectively, it is saying that it is my fault that their employee did not provide me with quality service. So, rather than fix it, they prefer to walk away. Now what am I supposed to do? How can I write anything positive about them? I can tell you that the receptionist seems nice. In my brief conversation, the body shop manager, Steve, seemed like a good guy. The guy from the Edinburg dealership who first called me when he saw my post seemed to really care. But in the end, I don’t have my van fixed.

I know it’s not the company’s fault, but the company’s reputation is on the line here, not Mary’s. So, if the employee can’t do a good job, the company has the opportunity to correct it. Give her some training. Maybe she has personal problems that have her distracted. Find out what is wrong and fix it. It’s as though one person fumbled the ball and the rest of the team is simply standing by watching it roll down the field rather than pick it up. I rather hoped they would pick up the ball.

I don’t want freebies. I don’t want butt kissing. I just wanted to be informed about my van. Now, because of one person’s actions, there is a soured relationship between me and one of the big businesses in my town.

Going Door to Door for Business

Today, I went door to door to hand out business cards and get some business. I figure that most of us are a bit lazy about taking our stuff in for repair. So, if somebody comes in and offers to fix something, it’s not a big deal to hire on the spot. It worked. Within my first ten stops, I got a quick job setting up a wireless router and DSL modem that had stopped working. I was able to get the computer and the router talking to each other. Tomorrow, I’ve got to talk to AT&T technical support to set up the DSL connection again.

I think this approach to getting work is preferable than simply putting out ads. We’ll see in the long-run if this pays off.

HP Pavilion 514c Has Bootup Issues

I recently got a job to recover a computer. By the way, they asked me to upgrade the video card so that it will handle 3D graphics rather well. I don’t have to install the best video card out there, just a pretty decent one. The problem with that is that the computer comes with a 200W power supply. So, I found a suitable 400W replacement and installed it today. I thought maybe the computer had boot up issues because of the power supply not providing enough juice to power up all the devices. It turns out not to be the case. I stripped computer down to bare essentials and it still hangs on boot up. I’ve tried a different drive with the same problem, so it’s not a software issue. I don’t have the diagnostic tools or another computer to check if the CPU or the motherboard is having problems. I did clean out the computer, it was filthy. Maybe it overheated at some point and is suffering the consequences. The owner told me that he would have to restart it several times before it would boot up completely.

The big issue here is that if I get a barebones system, I can no longer use the recovery CD. I’d have to get another copy of Windows. So, we are looking at an expense of several hundred dollars to replace a system that probably cost as much. As far as gaming and configuration, a custom box is ideal, but pricier. I need to talk to the owner tomorrow and discuss options.

UPDATE:
I have since researched the problem further. I went to HP.com to find out the specs on the computer. It turns out that the motherboard is a FIC AM37. I Googled for similar issues during POST. It turns out to be a known issue. The good news is that there are replacement FIC AM37 boards available on eBay. I called the owner, and he seems more partial to getting a new computer. I suggested replacing the mobo as the least expensive option, followed by ordering a barebones system and transplanting parts, and the most expensive option being a new PC. He’ll talk to his dad and call me back.

Christmas Program at Leal Elementary

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

Tonight, our family is attending the Christmas program at Leal Elementary in Mission, Texas. Though our son is not performing in this program, he asked if he could attend. This is probably a better alternative to watching television. Family entertainment.

Christmas Recital

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

My daughter is playing in her first band recital at Kenneth White Jr. High School in Mission, Texas. The 7th and 8th grade bands are playing separately.

Getting Oral Histories From Family

Today, I finally did something that I have been wanting to do for some time. I talked to my grandmother and recorded what she remembers about my father’s side of the family. She turned 75 this year and is still is good health. Given her being witness to the lives of my aunts and uncles, her 40-something grandchildren, and 30-something great grandchildren, I believe she has much to share. I got the oral history started this morning by asking her some of the more basic information. Later, I called my aunts and asked them what they remember about growing up. Next week, I will continue asking more questions. It is awesome that such a thing is possible. You ought to try to record your family history as well. You can listen to the oral history podcast here.

A View From Starbucks in McAllen

Originally uploaded by shainelee.

Gloomy weather is the extent of our winter here in South Texas. It’s cold enough that I wanted a chai from Starbucks.

Customer Service at Bert Ogden Motors

This morning, I am headed out to Bert Ogden Motors to talk to the body shop and find out what is going on with my van. I’ve been calling for information all week and have not had one phone call returned. I figure I should deal with it in person. <!– I will be broadcasting the experience on my Blog Talk Radio show this morning so that you can listen in as I try to resolve this. Click on the link below to join me.

The Morning Show

UPDATE

Bert Ogden Body Shop

Blogger Has OpenID

Tonight, I have been checking out some of my favorite blogs and found that they have OpenID activated. Naturally, I took the opportunity to comment on a couple using my OpenID account. A few days ago, I activated OpenID through draft.blogger.com on all my blogs. I don’t know if my favorite blogs activated OpenID on their blogs, if blogger added it for everybody, or if the feature was added because of my google account settings transferring. I don’t care. All that matters is that I can now comment with my blog URL as my login.