Plan B Update

Posted on November 5, 2012 by MarleneMB

Well we didn’t get my son’s stolen phone back. I think I lost the opportunity to locate it because I had to travel this weekend on business outside the country. The problem with the Plan B App is that the crooks can see that the App is being loaded on the phone. They have the ability to uninstall it and/or turn off the phone. This means the phone cannot be tracked. What we need is an App that is able to be loaded with such stealth that no one is aware of it.

Also, the Plan B App accesses the phone via the Gmail account. Now that my son has his replacement phone associated with his Gmail account, we may have lost the capability to link the App with the stolen phone. I will keep trying to find an App that would give me this capability. In the end, my son learned a valuable lesson about being more careful with his phone. I’m disappointed that we were not able to locate it, and have the pleasure of handing the culprits over to the police. Yet, I am reminded that this is only a small material loss and there are people in the Northeast who are wondering where they will sleep or what they will eat tonight. My prayers remain with them.

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Hooked on Amazon

Posted on October 22, 2012 by MarleneMB

I confess I am hooked on Amazon as my go-to place for shopping. Most people complain that Wal-Mart is a big conglomerate that pushes local stores out of business. They are mostly right. But I dare say if others are like me, perhaps Amazon is the new Wal-Mart. I know that there are other sites where I can do my shopping. I also know I can now shop online with the brick-and-mortar stores, but Amazon makes it so easy to shop with it. Besides,Amazon was one of the first sites that said “Hello, Marlene,” whenever I logged in. (Yes, I have sucker written on my forehead, too!)

At first I started buying books through Amazon, then some small electronics. Now it seems like I jump on Amazon’s site to price check everything before I purchase a product elsewhere. I joined the Prime Account program to get the free two-day shipping. It was worth spending the annual feel to waive the shipping costs, because I was buying so many books for both the graduate program that I was in and my son’s undergraduate classes. Amazon also upgraded my account to a Student account that cut the Prime Account fee in half. Needless to say, my shopping with Amazon increased.

The convenience of buying beauty products, books, music, movies, print cartridges, etc., and having these items delivered to my doorstep (okay the lobby) two days later without getting in my car is wonderful. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but that one-click to purchase feature is another thing I like. I don’t have to fill out all my information over and over again. At first I was worried about security, but now I know even the most secure sites experience fraud. Fraud can happen anywhere; I can go to a restaurant and someone can steal my credit card info. My concern lessened enough to sign up for the one-click-to-purchase feature.

I am able to download “free” books, movies and music because of my Prime Account. I find that Amazon’s prices are much softer on my pocket book than the Apple store; therefore, I would buy my music on Amazon download it to my laptop and play it on iTunes. While I am not using Amazon’s Cloud Solution, I know they have heavily marketed this product/service to many businesses.

I wouldn’t be surprise if an announcement comes out that Amazon is buying a TV or cable station along with a telecommunications carrier. After all content is king and you still need a way to get the info to the end-user. Google bought a wireless provider to shore up it’s control of its content delivery method, but I don’t buy my beauty products from Google. I don’t know who knows more about me: Amazon, Google, or Facebook. I suspect Amazon may have the edge on the others due to my shopping habits.

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New Technology, Old Fashion Touch

Posted on October 20, 2012 by MarleneMB

I like having gadgets and using things technology brings us. I like hooking up the surround sound on my stereo and television, and figuring out where all the wires go. In my opinion microwaves, washers/dryers and air conditioning are some of the best inventions ever. They make life seem easier, more convenient and more comfortable. Yet, sometimes doing things the “old fashion” way is the best.

I remember when I bought one of those automatic garbage cans that open by waving your hand over the sensor. It worked really well, until one day a family friend came over and tried to open it manually. He didn’t know how it operated; thus, he broke it. I replaced it with another one and someone dropped the top. This caused the battery compartment to break. I finally gave in and bought a garbage can that requires you to step on the foot lever and it opens. It is working perfectly fine! The same thing happened with the electric can openers. The electric ones broke so easily or they wouldn’t work if the light went out. I replaced them with a manual one that is wonderful. It cuts the cans and the cans open with smooth edges. I have it now for years and it still working well.

Sometimes we need to view social media the same light. It is good to be able to connect with others virtually. Social media has helped us advance our relationships beyond our traditional neighborhoods. I am able to re-connect with old friends and family members that I have not seen in years. It is fun to share information and get caught up on life’s events.

Still, social media and technology should not replace the human contact. As one of my friend said today: “Technology changes, but human nature stays the same.” People still want to have a real hug, to see a real smile, to exchange a firm handshake face to face. We are definitely social beings. Social beings that adapt to using technology, but beings that need the old fashion touch! This weekend make sure you give someone a big hug the old fashion way.

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Winning

Posted on October 18, 2012 by MarleneMB

As an entrepreneur, you often have to go the extra mile to get new business. This means when the clock hits 5 p.m. you are not going home and turning on the television. It sometimes means you have to get in the car and head to another networking event. Today was a very long day for me, but I signed up for yet another business event that started after five. The good news was that it wasn’t far from home.

After rushing from Broward County, trying not to do 90 mph on 95 South to get to Miami on time. I hate being late! I got a nice call from a potential client that she wants to meet with me as soon as possible. She needs some of the products we offer. That picked my mood up immensely. Suddenly I was not so tired. After freshening up in the “powder room,” I got my badge and entered my name on the tablet they had at registration for a raffle later.

This event was the Miami Small Business Symposium hosted by Verizon and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Verizon had lots of wireless gadgets on display and assistances that were snapping our pictures with some of these nifty items. Did I mention that they had free food? The meeting consists of: a panel discussion, a round table session on various products, and networking with other attendees. When it was time for the raffle, I was crossing my fingers hoping that I would win the new Samsung Tablet. Instead I won the round-trip ticket to anywhere Southwest flies! I jumped out of my chair and ran to get that hot-little ticket in my hands. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

The symposium was very informative and gave me great information that I can share with my clients and prospects. I also met two new prospects that need assistance with technology for their small businesses. This night taught me that you have to go, even when you don’t feel like going. You have to constantly network to find new opportunities. Finally, you may be very surprised by winning a round-trip ticket to anywhere in the country. This makes it all worthwhile. Winning!!!

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Math, Science, Power Tools and Shoes

Posted on October 17, 2012 by MarleneMB

I remember that I first fell in love with math when my Aunt Peggy taught me long division versus short division at the age of eight. I was so excited to be able to figure out the problems that I would try to see how fast I could solve a problem. In ninth grade, Mr. De La Vecchia introduced me to Algebra. My happiness sensory went into overload. Figuring out a+b=c or learning polynomials was so exciting for me!

Then there are sciences. I couldn’t wait to get to Mr. Wolfe’s class to see the next Physics demo or in my chemistry class to turn on the Bunsen burner to perform another experiment. I think I liked these two subjects, because mathematics was involved. It shouldn’t be a surprise that in my career I ended up using mathematics in all of the jobs I held in telecommunications. As a sales engineer, I had to determine how many IP addresses a client may need for the companies data network. I had to become certified in the design of networks via the Cisco certification process.

The part I love most about studying for my exams involved understanding binary codes and subnet masking. Learning about ASCII, ANSI, Hex, etc. codes was thrilling to me. I would engross myself into converting binary codes to IP addresses and back for hours! Knowing that as the IP 192.168.0.0 and is the beginning of a “C” class private IP address, sent my mind into happy land overdrive. Most of my girlfriends taught I was “nuts” of course. They couldn’t imagine I would give up my weekend to read a technical book.

I also love music because of math. There are eight notes that when rearranged make great melodies, but I see them in mathematical combination instead of arrangements or scores. When I learned to dance the waltz or other types of dances, I was usually counting 1-2-3, 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4. Again math came to my rescue.

Fear not, guys and dolls. I’m not totally geeky. I get the same happy feeling when I enter Home Depot or Lowes, and I walk in the power tool aisle only to see a Dewalt Cordless 18V Hammerdrill with double battery pack on sale for $100. I love power tools. Or when I walk into Macys and see a pair of shoes on sale, marked down from $120 to $20! Shucks it doesn’t even have to be Macy’s, any pair of shoes on sales anywhere gives me the same happy feelings I have for math.

Next time you are out and about, think about the great things mathematics and science has brought us. You may have a new appreciation for these two awesome subjects. I didn’t like learning English subject much or writing an essay, but I have grown to love words and how beautiful they are when used to express my love of people, places, things, mathematics and science.

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