UPS CMS Processing Fee

If you recently have sent any package via the UPS store, look at your receipt carefully. On it you'll see a line item for .20 cent for "CMS Processing Fee."

A quick search around the Internet shows that the fee is for using the iShip product.

The services give corporations, like UPS, Shipping Insight to make the smartest shipping decisions. Employees in any location can price, ship, track and manage important shipments over the Internet through easy-to-access iShip hosted applications. Managers and Administrators also have complete control and visibility into shipping throughout the enterprise and are able to define shipping procedures, approve carriers and rates, and set shipping rules.

Basically the UPS Store is charging you to find the cheapest way to send and track your package. There is a PDF document from flemingareaoffice.com that briefly talks about the fee impact.

Google AdWords Graphic

Google Adwords should update the default graphic on the Adwords login page. It's been the same graphic for at least a year. (I recall it got changed just before the Enhanced Campaigns came out last year.)

War Room Graphic

I modified the above graphic for a War Room that my company was setting up for some software engineers. This is perfect logo to put on a door of a conference room that your using for a War Room.

Click on the image for a 1280 x 1024 printable version, perfect for an 11 x 17 printout. I would recommend printing it on heavy card stock so that you can reuse the sign over again.

Verizon Upgrade Fee

I am a little confused by this text message I got this morning from Verizon:

Free VZW msg: Dear customer, we're pleased to reward you,
you've earned an upgrade: you qualify for a new smartphone!
Feel free to call 888-745-5774 or visit your local Verizon store to find out more!
2yr Agmt req'd. $30 upgrade fee will apply. Reply 'X' to stop msgs

Wait, What? A $30 upgrade fee? I am confused on what did I earn - The privilege to spend $30? Oh by the way, since I am no longer under any contract, I am fully free to select ANY provider and I am sure that AT&T won't charge me $30 to upgrade my phone.

So Verizon Wireless, why did you send me this text? and Why are you charging me an Upgrade Fee??

iGoogle

Google's iGoogle service is a way to create a custom homepage of custom widgets. You can have a widget to track stock trading, latest ski conditions, the 'funny joke of the day' and so much more! Really cool way to get all your information in one place.

On November 1st, 2013, the iGoogle service will not exist any more. I can't complain too much since I haven't spent any money using iGoogle. That's why I supposed that Google is pulling the plug since it hasn't made that much money from this service and feel that web apps built into Chrome will replace the feature.You can find these in the Google's Chrome Store.

One of the features I liked about iGoogle is the ability to have custom search widgets. I can have a widget which will show me all the latest news related to Framingham, and another which will tell me any news about the MBTA. I can scan the headlines and read only the stories that appeal to me.

Google News has some similar features, so I'll play around with that. I'll miss having a single source of information.

Yankee Swap

Yankee swaps are always a fun event at work. (Some locals call it a Gift Swap,  Black Santa, Chinese Gift Exchange, Dirty Santa, Greedy Punter, Thieves' Christmas) This is a great way to get people together and have some social fun.

There are different ways you can implement the Yankee swap, here are some of the rules that our company implemented at the last Yankee Swap:

• Everyone has to have a gift to participate, and the maximum spend is $20.
• All gifts have to be wrapped or in a gift bag.
• Everyone draws a number out of a hat.
• The person that has the number one ticket gets to pick the first gift.
• Everyone else has the opportunity to pick a gift from the pile OR they can steal someone else's gift.
• If someone takes your gift you must pick an unwrap gift.
• At the end, the person that picks first has the opportunity to swap their gift with anyone in the room. (That is they have the opportunity to get the best gift.)

Some gift ideas seen at several different Yankee Swaps:

• Lottery scratch tickets - Most popular item that people try to swap!
• Itunes Gift card
• Dunkin/Starbucks gift cards
• Liquor gift packs
• Wine
• Page-A-Day and wall Calendars
• Office toys
• DVDs
• Books

When selecting your gift idea try to be creative. Some people get a couple of things and try to have a theme, such as a book with a lottery ticket.

Have fun with your Yankee Swap!

Plaxo Platinum Sync

Today I got an email from Adrian Hurel that "Thanks for purchasing Platinum Sync." Which is very weird since I rarely ever use the Plaxo service. (I believe I signed up because a friend on Facebook was on it.) I am very sure that I didn't recently upgrade.

FYI: Plaxo brings all your contacts into one place, gives you access to your data where you need it, and keeps your address book up-to-date. You can upgrade for $5 a month to add 2-way, real-time sync keeps your address book consistent and accessible from the essential communication tools you use every day.

To make sure that I didn't upgrade, I logged into the service - not too quickly as it took several tries since I completely forgot what my username/password was. After a few choice guesses, I was in. I notice that my "membership" was still at the basic level and its still free. I also noticed that I only have 3 contacts in Plaxo, so I don't think I would have upgraded.

I don't know if something weird happened at Plaxo, as I have no idea why they think I purchased their Platinum service. Guess they need better QA on their emails.

Content Shadowing

In Content Management, content shadowing is when you have a main content and some children content based off the main content. This is usually used when the children content doesn't change that much from the main content and there are lots of children contents.

The main advantage of using content shadowing over simple page linking is that it keeps the website to have the same look and feel throughout the site. It also gives more control to the primary owner of the content.

Example of Content Shadowing:

The American Association of Tirade has offices all over the country and thousands of websites to display specific information on their satellite offices. However, on several pages it displays content from the home office. Some text is replaced to add the local touch, but the bulk of the text is managed at the home office in Washington D.C. When the home office makes a change to the content, all the satellite offices get that change.

Content Shadowing needs to be built into a content management solution and be part of the design of a Website Project Architect. CS2 from Refresh Software was one company that offered the solution, some other CMS companies are working on implementing into their systems.

Engineer Queue Boss

Essential Dev Position to help with Releases

An Engineer Queue Boss is someone that handles any issues that Quality Assurance or Customer Support finds. The purpose of this position is to take the load off other engineers so they can focus on their task and not be distracted by current issues.

In some companies this role shifts into high gear around product releases to support any deployment or release related issues.

Three requirements of a good Engineer Queue Boss:

1. Domain Knowledge of the Application
2. Good Communication Skills
3. Excellent Detective Skills (Ability to search for the problem.)

Some companies call this role Cue Boss or Que Boss, but the correct name is Queue Boss.

Business Books damage in Flood

In 2009, we had an expected flood in our basement and we lost some things. The following is a list of books that I had the were mostly ruined in the flood. All of these are really good books that I'll probably purchase again. Thankfully there's plenty of used versions on Amazon so it won't be too expensive to rebuild my library.

The list of business books that were damaged and a link to Amazon:

• DO IT!, John-Roger & Peter McWilliams see john-roger.org
• Fish!, Stephen Lundin
• Focal Point, Brian Tracy
• Good to Great, Jim Collins
• Leverage your Best Ditch the Rest, Scott Blanchard
• Re-imagine!, Tom Peters
• Revolutionary Boston, Lexingtonm and Concord, Joseph Andrews
• Selling to VITO (the Very Importaint Top Officer), Anthony Parinello
• Set your voice FREE, Roger Love
• Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin
• The Success Principle, Jack Canfield
• Victory, Brian Tracy
• We got Fired...and it's the Best Thing that Ever Happened to Us, Harvey Mackay
• Winning Every Day, Lou Holtz
• Winning, Jack Welch
• Wright Way, Mark Eppler