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I am travelling tomorrow to New Jersey to pickup a present for my sons, Steven and Nicholas. By now, everyone knows to use MapQuest to get directions...but for my trip tomorrow, I will use something new.
Microsoft is agressively entering the mapping business with Virtual Earth. Recently, it has undergone a name change to Windows Live - Local. It has some great features...directions, push-pins, aerial photos, and the ability to search for companies and people and then map them quickly. Try it out!
Up Close and Personal
A real cool feature on Windows Live Local is their new Bird's Eye View. This view is extra close photography that let's you get real cool closeups on certain areas of the country.
Check out this map of one of the greatest places on Earth. Any guesses about what it is?
According to Microsoft, only about 20% of the United States is available in Bird's Eye View. They want to have 80% available with 2 years.
Sorry for the few days of blogless existence...been shoveling the snow....
The transistion from summer to fall and fall to winter always gets me sick. My body just doesn't like the transition. There is not much I can do. Between the change of the seasons, my four kids, and my co-worker and friend Mike's kids, there is enough sickness to go around. There is not much I can do about it, so I just try to get through it. As I thought about viruses, I thought I might share a little on my approach to virus protection on my PCs...
Well, I don't use virus protection. Call it unsafe, call it crazy, but I don't. Let me explain myself. Back when viruses first came into popular existence, I was managing about 40 users and their PCs. We installed whatever available antivirus software existed at the time, but reinforced self-protection through training, diligence, and testing. I hammered into those users the basic rules of protection (not opening unknown stuff, not running unknown programs, not visiting sites that are not reputable or known, etc). Through all of that, I became diligent myself...very diligent. I am extremely cautious when it comes to anything I am not familiar with. For years, I have used wisdom and caution to protect myself from any viruses, malicious software, etc. and for years I have been virus free.
Does this mean I don't check for viruses? No...i do check for them (even though I can't remember the last time I have found a virus), but I do not have any virus scanning software installed on my machine or running that is constantly checking files and processes for viruses. I am not a big fan of installable virus scanning software (like Norton Antivirus, McAfee, AVG, etc.) because:
- These programs are generally resource intensive and use memory, hard disk space, processor speed...which robs other areas of my PC.
- These programs are costly...over the years, renewal fees add up.
- They can offer a false sense of security if a new virus gets past the virus protection.
I have chosen self-protection over program-protection. How do I protect myself? Here's what I do:
- Frequently run free online virus scanners such as TrendMicro's Housecall, the new safety section at Microsoft's Live.com site, BitDefender, and Kapersky. These are free tools and are kept up with the latest virus definitions. These tools also offer other useful checks that protect from malicious attacks.
- Frequently run spyware scans. AdAware, Spybot, and TrendMicro's Housecall do a great job in eliminating spyware. I have noticed that any one tool may be inadequate, but using all three is a good approach.
- Keep up to date with ALL Microsoft updates through Automatic Updates or by checking at Windows Update.
- Never relax my standards of close examination of everything that comes into or is run on my machines.
Will I get burned one day? Maybe...and it will be my fault. But for now, I will enjoy a fast machine, a clean machine, and virus free living.
If you think I'm crazy and want to have virus scanning software, Mike recommends EZ Antivirus by Computer Associates. It does not take up a lot of resources on your computer and they offer a the first year trial for free.
Do not adjust or remove your virus protection software without fully understanding the implications involved. I am not responsible for any affects viruses may have on your PC.
We just had a company meeting to discuss some of the latest news regarding Mission Research. Part of the meeting focused on our responsibility to our community and that we should consider our role in serving those around us...especially those who may have needs of food, clothing, shelter, etc.
Our CEO, Charlie Crystle, also mentioned that when the company is more established, we will also get a couple paid days off a year to devote those days to community service. When is the last time you have heard that offered as a benefit?
My family and I serve our community in different ways already, and I don't need to have paid days off to do it, but it is sure nice to work for a company that promotes it.
My brother registered fafel.com and then let it expire. Now, if I want to get it, I have to pay hundreds of dollars to get my name back. Well, there's nothing I can do about it now...but I can register new domain names.
Yahoo! is currently offering $2.99 domain name registrations! That's a great price for a one year registration.
I think it only lasts till the end of December. So get one by going to: http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/domains/
getting into GiftWorks
In his blog, our CTO, Dave Weaver, provided a great introduction to the power and flexibility of the framework on which GiftWorks is built. I wanted to demonstrate a practical use of the GiftWorks application framework and perhaps stir some ideas for those who have GiftWorks and want to explore some possibilities.
In this example, I am using a Excel and VBA (Visual Basic For Applications) to send spreadsheet data to GiftWorks.
the scenario
Many GiftWorks users have asked if there is a way to batch-enter many donors without having to go through the dialog process over and over. Our common response is to encourage them to fill out an Excel spreadsheet and then to use the powerful import feature of GiftWorks. Another way to accomplish batch entry would be to use the application framework to communicate directly from Excel to GiftWorks without having to go through the import process.
Excel and some code
You can download the sample Excel file here ExceltoGiftWorks.xls (44 KB)
When you open the Excel file, you may be prompted with a macro warning...be sure the Enable Macros so that the code within the Excel file will be enabled. Your Excel file should look like:
Notice the data in the cells and the "Send To GiftWorks" button. I have entered 3 rows of simple donor information and want to send this donor information to GiftWorks. When I am ready, I can click on the "Send To GiftWorks" button and the donors will be created in GiftWorks. Also, after the donors are added, the Donor Id column is updated with the donor's new id. This id column is used to prevent duplicate donors in GiftWorks. Pretty easy...but let's see how it's done.
code notes
With the Excel file open, press Alt-F11 and you should see the VBA editor. Right-click on frmMain and choose View Code and you will see the code that adds the donors to GiftWorks. Here are some notes regarding the code:
- If you are not familiar with VBA and Excel, there is some great information at http://www.exceltip.com
- The ActiveCell.CurrentRange is a reference to the active cells (as Excel defines them. Excel looks where your cursor is and determines where the real data is surrounding your cursor.
- Notice I retrieved the list of states from Giftworks using the App.Modules.Donor.Codes("state") call. This method returns a collection object which I use to get the appropriate state code.
- After the donor is inserted, I use the DonorId and update the column data. The next time the "Send To GiftWorks" button is pressed, only the donors without a DonorId will be inserted.
summary
If you want to build a quick data entry add-on for GiftWorks, it can be easily done by using GiftWorks, Excel, and VBA. There is no limit to what you can do!
This morning I found myself reminiscing about my college days. Vicki and I went to different colleges and we spent a ton of money talking on the phone. Even though we tried to schedule and carefully measure the time we spent on the phone, sometimes calls went much longer than we anticipated and our phone bill reflected it.
I have been reminded lately about all the great (and free) tools that we have available to us to (that were not easily available back in college). Email, IM, blogs, personal websites, etc...so many tools available to help us develop and maintain relationships. While the addition of these tools to my life has been helpful, I also think it has been detrimental in some ways. i.e if I try to use these tools as a "lazy" way of maintaining relationships. I need to remember that relationships require time, energy, effort, and sacrifice...and sometimes I forget.
I do not begrudge these tools...but welcome them in their proper place....overused and they can be damaging...
When these tools become a permanent replacement for a handshake, a hug, energizing conversation, a shared meal, facial expressions, vocal inflections, eye contact, or a game of cards or ping-pong, then perhaps these tools have gone too far.
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends
For some reason, inexpesive gadgetry always intrigues me. If you haven't made Woot a part of your daily web scanning ritual, make sure you do. Each day, one item (and only one item) is advertised on their web site with a limited quantity. The items are usually really new or a little old....either way, the price seems right. Since the new item starts at midnight, sometimes by the time I wake up, the item is gone. Check it out...
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