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Vantage Point

Strategic marketing concepts and business observations. Small business start-up experiences.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Technorati Profile



Here I go again trying to figure out Technorati and learn about internet traffic and linking. You'd think I was dumb, or slow, but I'd call it 'distracted'. It's tough talking to myself. Is anyone out there?



Carol

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 11:32 AM


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Friday, May 02, 2008

I've signed up for Yahoo's Product Search Marketing and have gotten a bit confused and frustrated. First of all they have a $50 minimum to open the account. And you have to commit to the $50 before you even know how it works! Hey, Yahoo, what about being more customer friendly? I know I'd like to test your services out before I fork out my hard-earned bucks.

It took 2 days and one error to get my test product uploaded to Yahoo but it looks very good. But then I started wondering how the mechanics of the listing function since, right now, most of my products are one-of-a-kind and once I get a sale, that's it, nada mas. Since I couldn't find anyway to remove my product I sent Yahoo an email from their help url. Two days later I got an answer - "the listing would remain online until you either turn the account off, or upload a new product feed replacing the previous one." Great. In a real world, not a test world, I wouldn't want to turn off my account since I may have other products listed. So off I go to see if I can upload a second product to replace the first.

Oh, by the way, since I tested the ad and clicked through to my website, I used 30 cents of my $50 deposit. Their computer immediately notified me to add more funds "to keep your account active and maintain your listings live on Yahoo".

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.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 9:45 AM


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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

It's official - I'm a merchant now. I've started a new business and opened a new shopping website -http://www.GoldenStarFruit.com. I've just finished getting my merchant accounts so I'm into a soft launch and working on search engines and generating traffic.

It's been an interesting process getting started. I tried very hard not to get the cart before the horse and that kept causing delays. I think the most challenging aspect was coming up with a website name. Everything I tried was taken and I didn't want to go out and buy anything. I had decided to launch this business in phases and Phase I calls for everything to be done 'on the cheap'. Once I reach predetermined benchmarks, then I move to Phase II followed by, guess what! Phase III.

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.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 2:16 PM


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Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I've been counseling small business owners and start-ups for SCORE for a year now and it has been amazing. I wish I could say it has been the best step I've ever taken but it's not. Here are some observations from my experience.

1. Some people should not start a business.
2. Some people don't want to listen to your counseling because it isn't saying what they want to hear!
3. Older counselors have a difficult time understanding the power of the internet.
4. Older businesses, now struggling, haven't realized their environment has changed but their business has not adapted to these changes.
5. Older clients, women especially, would rather quit than manage change and revitalize their business.
6. Many people don't realize the SCORE services are FREE and are missing out on great mentoring and learning opportunities.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 9:33 AM


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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Comfort and quality - two characteristics I like in shoes. Well, I found some at the mall in Colorado; a pair of hemp-sewn suede flip flops. Couldn't find them on the website but did see that the company has a lot of choice. Go to: ACORNEARTH.COM

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 2:26 PM


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Sunday, July 16, 2006

This is a good website with interesting stepping stone molds. They also sell pigments for the concrete the stepping stones are made from, or they sell concrete paint.

View All Molds: Concrete Stepping Stone Molds By GardenMolds

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 11:13 AM


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Saturday, May 13, 2006

Someone sent me the following email a few weeks ago. I was skeptical at first so I verified Citgo's ownership on their website and in SEC filings. I never knew it was owned by the Venezuelan government. The email has stayed in my mind, so much so that I've thought about picketing the gas stations around town to bring awareness to the public. Then today I read an article in the St. Petersburg Times that quoted other South American leaders as being annoyed by Chavez's meddling in their politics as he expands his reach across borders.

#####

PLEASE forward this to as many people as possible.
s>

Cindy & Chavez
Venezuela Dictator Vows To Bring Down U.S. Government

Venezuela government is sole owner of Citgo gasoline company

Venezuela Dictator Hugo Chavez has vowed to bring down the U.S. government. Chavez, president of Venezuela, told a TV audience: "Enough of imperialist aggression; we must tell the world: down with the U.S. empire. We have to bury imperialism this century."

The guest on his television program, beamed across Venezuela, was Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar activist. Chavez recently had as his guest Harry Belafonte, who called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world."

Chavez is pushing a socialist revolution and has a close alliance with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Regardless of your feelings about the war in Iraq, the issue here is that we have a socialist dictator vowing to bring down the government of the U.S. And he is using our money to achieve his goal!

The Venezuela government, run by dictator Chavez, is the sole owner of Citgo gas company. Sales of products at Citgo stations send money back to Chavez to help him in his vow to bring down our government.

Take Action

Please decide that you will not be shopping at a Citgo station. Why should U.S. citizens who love freedom be financing a dictator who has vowed to take down our government?

Very important. Please forward this to your friends and family. Most of them don't know that Citgo is owned by the Venezuela government.


YOU CAN VERIFY THIS ON THE CITGO WEB PAGE.
http://www.citgo.com/AboutCITGO.jsp

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 8:50 AM


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Monday, February 27, 2006

Hey BIG Business, here's a strategic marketing thought for you . . .

You go to the trouble and the expense of making a large retail sale but your delivery department takes its turn and slaps the customer in their face. What, you think they have bought everything they need to buy from you?!?!?!!!!

It started with Sears. We purchased a dishwasher and refrigerator, on sale, and it was scheduled (at their convenience) to be delivered on a Saturday between 1:30-3:30. It was after 6:00 when they finally appeared at the door, ready to slam the installation process in 5 minutes or less.

Then we purchased a large-screen TV from Circuit City. Almost the same story except they made the delivery window. Problem was the installer being so rushed he rattled off instructions so fast we couldn't follow him. Left us a bit frustrated and needing to reconfigure antennae and DVD installations oursevles.

So we get the sofa to watch TV from and the delivery guys were so inexperienced and hurried that they damaged the front doorway fending their way into the house. Repair department comes out to fix it and runs out of time. Leaves, saying that Customer Service will phone with a follow-up appointment to finish the repair. We haven't heard word One from them. Surprise.

So now it's off to buying office furniture. The salesman is a Saint. He spends beaucoup time with us and we finally settle on our purchase. Delivery is scheduled for the next day with installation/set-up to be completed three days later between 1-5:00. At 4:15 I'm calling to verify they are still coming. The CSR tells me they show the set-up completed on the day we purchased, transfers me to Dispatch who never answers and I wind up in computer phone hold musicland for 20 minutes for the second time that day. I finally phone the store manager who didn't believe me. After researching the problem, however, he winds up livid with the set-up crew who doesn't want to reschedule us for 3 days. Mr. Office Depot Store Manager does the right thing and finds another installation crew who could come out the next day to finish the job.

Moral is, we don't want to buy anything else even though we still have a list. The delivery/installation crews have made us weary and leary.

Maybe tomorrow I'll write about our internet purchases.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 9:27 AM


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Monday, September 05, 2005

60 MINUTES had a segment last night about alternative offshore medical care in Thailand. They interviewed a woman from Florida who had gone to Bumrungrad Hospital for hip surgery that has not yet been approved by the government here. The hospital looked beautiful and reportedly has quality, ono-on-one nursing care. Worth doing some research on this.

International Hospital - Bangkok, Thailand - Bumrungrad International

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 2:31 PM


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I received a catalog in the mail entitled FLOR. "Modular Floorcovering That Goes Everywhere" - nice looking carpeting tiles that come in different textures, colors, and designs. Worth a look - especially for the young and modern!

Modern, modular carpet tiles and area rugs for Do-It-Yourself ease - InterfaceFLOR

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 1:01 PM


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Sunday, July 31, 2005

Three blogs I want to look at in more depth -

Brand Noise

BrandShift

Igor

recommended by Fast Company

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 4:29 PM


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Sunday, June 12, 2005

I was in an internet forum yesterday that was discussing early retirement and living overseas. One posting referenced a mail forwarding service, www.boatmail.com. This company originally serviced people who cruised the globe in their boats and yachts but now also services people living outside the USA.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 1:02 PM


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Tuesday, March 08, 2005

The St. Petersburg Times has been publishing a series of articles about the MLB Devil Rays. What went wrong

I'm not a sports fan, nor do I know much about baseball but some things just pop out as 'obvious' after living in St Pete for 7 years and reading the Special Reports the last 2 days. Clearly, the major objective of the organization is to pull some wins out of the magic hat and start building some momentum. But putting that aside, along with the location issue and the managing partner issue, the Devil Rays need a MAJOR overhaul in their marketing. MLB didn't get to where it's at by ignoring the market. Without customers, they have nothing (I think they can see that now). Nobody wants to feel ripped off and nobody wants to be treated poorly. But that keeps happening over and over and over.

People don't mind cheering for a losing team. But wouldn't it be more fun (and entertaining) if the team were more interactive with the audience and community. I mean, GIVE ME A REASON to go to a game. Maybe, just maybe, if they asked my to come cheer them on, I'd go. I like to support friends and neighbors. It feels like the Devil Rays only want me to come to a game so they can take my money. Boo! Don't take my money unless you can offer something in return. Since a win seems unlikely at this point, the team has to find other ways to give value back to the customers. Don't ever forget though - the customer is paying to see GREAT BASEBALL. Has somebody forgotten that????

It was dismaying to see the market survey results showing that many people think they are too old to go to a baseball game. Mr. Auker wants to advertise to moms in the community. I applaud that. How about some ad campaigns that show people having fun going to the Trop? Taglines like "YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO LIKE BASEBALL" - "YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO LIKE BASEBALL" - "YOU'RE NEVER TOO BUSY TO LIKE BASEBALL" - all with photos of people in the Trop having fun. For video, use real footage so that people can see themselves on TV and talk it up. For photos, again use real customers to add credibility. Involve the community. Involve your customers. Involve the players. Start getting some buzz!

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 5:07 PM


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Saturday, May 08, 2004

Where have I been?!?! Working, holiday party planning and doing, working some more, Key West & The Everglades, fixing up the house to sell, etc.

In the house-fixing-up mode, I've watched hours and hours of HGTV to force my mind into that track. Some of it is good TV and some isn't but I can glean a good nugget from their shows at least once a week. I much prefer the few shows I've seen on HGTV's sister channel, Fine Living. Maybe I fit that market better (hope so!)?

HGTV, Fine Living, DIY Network, Food Network are all cable networks owned by E. W. Scripps who has opted for niche markets in their television "publishing" business. Scripps is now buying television shopping channel Shop At Home and is planning on aligning the shopping channel with the other 4 networks it owns. I can only say, "WOW!" What potential!

They have already tested their cross promotion abilities with DIY Scrapbooking and found it to be successful. Now they are "playing" with softer sales approaches than is customary on TV shopping channels. Caution should be the rule as they move ahead. Softer selling may be more entertaining but it may not get the cash register full.

I don't want to sound negative here, just caution-ary. The ol' HSN and QVC formats are getting quite dull, dull, and dull. Shop at Home doesn't have to be that way! Tours of homes and factories, artist's studios, etc will be powerful sales tools for the multitudes of products that can be showcased on mutiple channels. They can create their own quality brands and provide envious product placement opportunities for themselves. They can cross sell over their 5 networks. They can cross promote their networks (which they already do well). The world is in front of them and the doors are open.

Good luck to E. W. Scripps. They've got the right idea!

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 5:17 PM


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Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Amazon using celebs for the holidays

I'm trying to say something nice here. They are acting as though this is a novel idea, using celebrities to bring an audience and sell products. Excuse me? Didn't George Foreman sell something???! No, he wasn't FREE but I would guess that he'd be compelled to promote his grill on Amazon if they asked. It's really the definition of FREE - nothing in life is free, the consumer pays in the end.

Bet you can think of other celebs that sell product, can't you?

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 10:10 AM


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Sunday, November 09, 2003

95 THESES from www.cluetrain.com

Markets are conversations.

Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.

Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.

Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.

People recognize each other as such from the sound of this voice.

The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media.

Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.

In both internetworked markets and among intranetworked employees, people are speaking to each other in a powerful new way.

These networked conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.

As a result, markets are getting smarter, more informed, more organized. Participation in a networked market changes people fundamentally.

People in networked markets have figured out that they get far better information and support from one another than from vendors. So much for corporate rhetoric about adding value to commoditized products.

There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.

What's happening to markets is also happening among employees. A metaphysical construct called "The Company" is the only thing standing between the two.

Corporations do not speak in the same voice as these new networked conversations. To their intended online audiences, companies sound hollow, flat, literally inhuman.

In just a few more years, the current homogenized "voice" of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th century French court.

Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.

Companies that assume online markets are the same markets that used to watch their ads on television are kidding themselves.

Companies that don't realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity.

Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance.

Companies need to realize their markets are often laughing. At them.

Companies need to lighten up and take themselves less seriously. They need to get a sense of humor.

Getting a sense of humor does not mean putting some jokes on the corporate web site. Rather, it requires big values, a little humility, straight talk, and a genuine point of view.

Companies attempting to "position" themselves need to take a position. Optimally, it should relate to something their market actually cares about.

Bombastic boasts—"We are positioned to become the preeminent provider of XYZ"—do not constitute a position.

Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.

Public Relations does not relate to the public. Companies are deeply afraid of their markets.

By speaking in language that is distant, uninviting, arrogant, they build walls to keep markets at bay.

Most marketing programs are based on the fear that the market might see what's really going on inside the company.

Elvis said it best: "We can't go on together with suspicious minds."

Brand loyalty is the corporate version of going steady, but the breakup is inevitable—and coming fast. Because they are networked, smart markets are able to renegotiate relationships with blinding speed.

Networked markets can change suppliers overnight. Networked knowledge workers can change employers over lunch. Your own "downsizing initiatives" taught us to ask the question: "Loyalty? What's that?"

Smart markets will find suppliers who speak their own language.

Learning to speak with a human voice is not a parlor trick. It can't be "picked up" at some tony conference.

To speak with a human voice, companies must share the concerns of their communities.

But first, they must belong to a community.

Companies must ask themselves where their corporate cultures end.

If their cultures end before the community begins, they will have no market.

Human communities are based on discourse—on human speech about human concerns.

The community of discourse is the market.

Companies that do not belong to a community of discourse will die.

Companies make a religion of security, but this is largely a red herring. Most are protecting less against competitors than against their own market and workforce.

As with networked markets, people are also talking to each other directly inside the company—and not just about rules and regulations, boardroom directives, bottom lines.

Such conversations are taking place today on corporate intranets. But only when the conditions are right.

Companies typically install intranets top-down to distribute HR policies and other corporate information that workers are doing their best to ignore.

Intranets naturally tend to route around boredom. The best are built bottom-up by engaged individuals cooperating to construct something far more valuable: an intranetworked corporate conversation.

A healthy intranet organizes workers in many meanings of the word. Its effect is more radical than the agenda of any union.

While this scares companies witless, they also depend heavily on open intranets to generate and share critical knowledge. They need to resist the urge to "improve" or control these networked conversations.

When corporate intranets are not constrained by fear and legalistic rules, the type of conversation they encourage sounds remarkably like the conversation of the networked marketplace.

Org charts worked in an older economy where plans could be fully understood from atop steep management pyramids and detailed work orders could be handed down from on high.

Today, the org chart is hyperlinked, not hierarchical. Respect for hands-on knowledge wins over respect for abstract authority.

Command-and-control management styles both derive from and reinforce bureaucracy, power tripping and an overall culture of paranoia.

Paranoia kills conversation. That's its point. But lack of open conversation kills companies.

There are two conversations going on. One inside the company. One with the market.

In most cases, neither conversation is going very well. Almost invariably, the cause of failure can be traced to obsolete notions of command and control.

As policy, these notions are poisonous. As tools, they are broken. Command and control are met with hostility by intranetworked knowledge workers and generate distrust in internetworked markets.

These two conversations want to talk to each other. They are speaking the same language. They recognize each other's voices.

Smart companies will get out of the way and help the inevitable to happen sooner.

If willingness to get out of the way is taken as a measure of IQ, then very few companies have yet wised up.

However subliminally at the moment, millions of people now online perceive companies as little more than quaint legal fictions that are actively preventing these conversations from intersecting.

This is suicidal. Markets want to talk to companies.

Sadly, the part of the company a networked market wants to talk to is usually hidden behind a smokescreen of hucksterism, of language that rings false—and often is.

Markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall.

De-cloaking, getting personal: We are those markets. We want to talk to you.

We want access to your corporate information, to your plans and strategies, your best thinking, your genuine knowledge. We will not settle for the 4-color brochure, for web sites chock-a-block with eye candy but lacking any substance.

We're also the workers who make your companies go. We want to talk to customers directly in our own voices, not in platitudes written into a script.

As markets, as workers, both of us are sick to death of getting our information by remote control. Why do we need faceless annual reports and third-hand market research studies to introduce us to each other?

As markets, as workers, we wonder why you're not listening. You seem to be speaking a different language.

The inflated self-important jargon you sling around—in the press, at your conferences—what's that got to do with us?

Maybe you're impressing your investors. Maybe you're impressing Wall Street. You're not impressing us.

If you don't impress us, your investors are going to take a bath. Don't they understand this? If they did, they wouldn't let you talk that way.

Your tired notions of "the market" make our eyes glaze over. We don't recognize ourselves in your projections—perhaps because we know we're already elsewhere.

We like this new marketplace much better. In fact, we are creating it.

You're invited, but it's our world. Take your shoes off at the door. If you want to barter with us, get down off that camel!

We are immune to advertising. Just forget it.

If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it something interesting for a change.

We've got some ideas for you too: some new tools we need, some better service. Stuff we'd be willing to pay for. Got a minute?

You're too busy "doing business" to answer our email? Oh gosh, sorry, gee, we'll come back later. Maybe.

You want us to pay? We want you to pay attention.

We want you to drop your trip, come out of your neurotic self-involvement, join the party.

Don't worry, you can still make money. That is, as long as it's not the only thing on your mind.

Have you noticed that, in itself, money is kind of one-dimensional and boring? What else can we talk about?

Your product broke. Why? We'd like to ask the guy who made it. Your corporate strategy makes no sense. We'd like to have a chat with your CEO. What do you mean she's not in?

We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal.

We know some people from your company. They're pretty cool online. Do you have any more like that you're hiding? Can they come out and play?

When we have questions we turn to each other for answers. If you didn't have such a tight rein on "your people" maybe they'd be among the people we'd turn to.

When we're not busy being your "target market," many of us are your people. We'd rather be talking to friends online than watching the clock. That would get your name around better than your entire million dollar web site. But you tell us speaking to the market is Marketing's job.

We'd like it if you got what's going on here. That'd be real nice. But it would be a big mistake to think we're holding our breath.

We have better things to do than worry about whether you'll change in time to get our business. Business is only a part of our lives. It seems to be all of yours. Think about it: who needs whom?

We have real power and we know it. If you don't quite see the light, some other outfit will come along that's more attentive, more interesting, more fun to play with.

Even at its worst, our newfound conversation is more interesting than most trade shows, more entertaining than any TV sitcom, and certainly more true-to-life than the corporate web sites we've been seeing.

Our allegiance is to ourselves—our friends, our new allies and acquaintances, even our sparring partners. Companies that have no part in this world, also have no future.

Companies are spending billions of dollars on Y2K. Why can't they hear this market timebomb ticking? The stakes are even higher.

We're both inside companies and outside them. The boundaries that separate our conversations look like the Berlin Wall today, but they're really just an annoyance. We know they're coming down. We're going to work from both sides to take them down.

To traditional corporations, networked conversations may appear confused, may sound confusing. But we are organizing faster than they are. We have better tools, more new ideas, no rules to slow us down.

We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 10:37 AM


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Monday, November 03, 2003

I noticed an editorial in the newspaper discussing the inevitable downfall of the telephone industry. Not only has long distance service fallen apart in recent years, but soon the local service side of the business is going to cave in to internet telephony according to the editorial. I can't find the editorial to "Blog It" but here is a link to different article that I found. Lightreading.com

The company putting fear into the telcos is Skype. The same people who built the peer-to-peer music sharing site, Kazaa, are developing a peer-to-peer free telephony business. Guess I'll have to get some headphones and check out my mic. But then, I'm not too sure my wireless network can handle it. But with time . . . (the only thing constant is CHANGE)

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 4:43 PM


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Wednesday, October 01, 2003

I'm back from vacation and catching up on my reading. Thought you might be interested in this article!

Can Three Words In Webster's Dictionary Be The Key To Customer Loyalty?

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 2:34 PM


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Friday, September 05, 2003

Well, the boat has been lifted, lifted, lifted. The plants are tucked away and the patio furniture stowed safely awaiting TS Henri's arrival. The rain started about 30 minutes ago - up until then we only had sprinkles. Henri is sitting 85 miles west of St. Petersburg and moving at approximately 8 miles per hour. They keep saying the storm will move north, northeast but so far it has dead headed due east, straight for us.

I tried to get doppler and satellite information from the local TV stations websites. What a poor performance that was. On one station I asked for rainfall prediction and got a scanty page with local tide information. Their other pages loaded in layers and never arrived at a decent viewing point. The other station doesn't have server capacity to manage the traffic evidently. I tried two loads and finally gave up. Such a loss of credibility they just earned. Too bad. Maybe its deliberate? Do they want us to turn off the computer and tune in the TV????

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 10:10 AM


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Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Here's the definition for ASP! Application Service Provider - Webopedia.com

.: posted by Carol Gamel - Carol@GoldenStarFruit.com 4:36 PM


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