So here’s the story with my local hardware store and why it is soooo difficult for me to keep my business local.

I found the item I wanted on the hardware store’s national website and I could have had it all shipped directly to my house but I thought I would try to help out the local store and order it from them.

I called them on the phone… told them the exact item number I wanted and that I needed 5 cases of them.   The clerk asked for my name and phone number, and since I knew I was not going to be in town for about 3 weeks so I told her that I also wanted to give her my Spokane phone number.  I also let her know that if she needed to delay the order that would be fine because I was not in a hurry and would not be back in town for about 3 weeks.   She explained that it would take about 2 weeks for the freight to arrive from the warehouse and that she would go ahead and place the order and call me when they came it.

Friday (about 4 weeks after I placed the order) I stopped in the store and inquired.  There were multiple people that tried to help me and finally a gentleman went in back to check for the items.  He was not able to find them and phoned someone else.   The verdict… “The phone number you gave us was incorrect and we sent them back on this morning’s truck.”

First of all, the clerk that took the order had two of my phone numbers and IF SHE WROTE ONE OF THEM DOWN WRONG she could have tried the other.  I am also in the PHONE BOOK and had she bothered to look up my name she would have been able to call.  

Long story short I went online placed the $485.00 order, paid the shipping and I will have my items on Thursday.   Local business need to understand a little bit about customer service.   Not even an I’m sorry and of course it was my problem.   I guess I should have double and triple checked she wrote my phone number down and then had he send me a fax copy so I could verify that everyone could read her handwriting.  

Needless to say that this business will NO LONGER be receiving any of my business.   I can go to the Ace Hardware, Haney’s or if I want mediocre service even WalMart.

For a new wine maker or in my case for my jump back into the hobby in the late fall when hand picked fruit is not readily available, I would recommend that you try a wine kit.   There are a lot of these out there from various manufacturers.   They contain virtually everything (except equipment and bottles)  that you will need to make a batch of wine.

In this post I will spend a few minutes talking about the equipment.  This may seem like a lot of stuff but really it isn’t and for usually less than $100.00 you can get yourself setup pretty well.

Equipment List:

Primary Fermentation Container – for standard 6 gal Carboys this should be a food grade container that is around 10 gallons in size and has a cover.  Primary fermentation will “foam” as it release CO2 and depending on the juice, the amount of foam varies.  You also want to keep airborne things out of your juices which is why you need a cover.

Carboy – This is the glass (sometimes plastic) container used for Secondary Fermentation.  Usually 6 gallons in capacity.  Narrow neck.  You are going to put an airlock on this container during secondary fermentation to keep out the oxygen.

Airlock and Stopper – These come in various shapes and sizes.  You will want a stopper with a hole drilled in the middle that will accommodate the airlock.  The purpose of the airlock is to allow gasses to escape from the Carboy but to not let any air back in.  Most versions I’ve seen float a plastic “cap” in a sulfite solution over a hard plastic tube that exits the carboy.

Long Handle Spoon – bet you know what this is for.  If you guessed stirring you are absolutely correct.  You should be able to reach to the bottom of your primary fermentation container with this spoon.  There is also a version of a “stirrer” that you can connect to a drill.   This is useful as it takes the work out of mixing things into the wine in future stages and can help to assure that the carbon dioxide gasses are being dissipated.

Hydrometer – You use the hydrometer to check specific gravity.  This is important in determining the sugar in your juices.  You can also use it to tell you the alcohol content.  Specific gravity readings are temperature sensitive.  I like to have a thermometer in my hydrometer as well.

Graduated Cylinder – This is probably not a requirement but I find it the best container to hold a small sample, float my hydrometer and have it at eye level to obtain the reading.

Thermometer – Temperature is important in fermentation.  Too high or low and the yeast will not do their job.  If your hydrometer doesn’t have one you will want to make sure you get one.

Wine Thief – This is a glass or plastic device that will allow you to collect a small sample of your wine.  You will use these samples to check specific gravity or for tasting.  Basically it is a long tube with a hole in both ends… You slide it into the wine and then put a finger over the hole on the end you are holding… this keeps the wine from coming out of the tube… When you place the end over the container you remove your finger and the wine flows out.

Rubber Tubing and Stop – You will do some siphoning as you move your wine from fermenting container to carboy(s) to bottles.  Good quality rubber tubing is a must.  You can also get a stopping device to place over the tubing that will “pinch” the tubing for you to stop the flow.  If you don’t want to use the “mouth suck” method to create the initial suction you can also get devices that will do this for you.

Carboy Brush – You will need to get the carboy clean.  This is basically a big brush with an angle in it that allows you to clean the neck and walls of the carboy.

Wine Bottle Cleaner – In addition to your carboy you will also need to make sure that your wine bottles are clean.   There is a pressurized system you can use, or you can use the good ol’ brush method.

For the most part I think this is everything… You may want to make sure that you save a few smaller glass containers to hold wine that you will be removing from the carboy in later stages, and I like to use the gallon size milk jugs for cleaning solutions.

Back in the mid to late 1990′s I used to be a wine maker.  I liked this pretty minor foray into chemistry that produced an end result that I could drink… well at least I thought I could.  (Many of those earlier batches were less than desirable.) 

Home wine making has really changed very little from when I did it then to now.  The basic equipment is still the same, and the chemistry and process certainly hasn’t changed.  What I do find to be different is the availability and quality of wine making kits.

A wine making kit contains all of the necessary juices, flavorings, chemicals and other additives to turn juices into wine.  The kit certainly takes away any of the relatively minor complexities that you would have found in wine making.  You no longer need to worry about acid content, brix (amount of sugar in juices), and pH.  If you can read and follow simple instructions – Step by Step – you too could be an at home winemaker.

The general process involves:

• 1. Primary fermentation – where the majority of the sugars are turned into alcohol by yeast.
• 2. Secondary fermentation – where the yeast continues to consume the sugars and
• 3. Clarifying – get rid of any residual “cloudiness”.
• 4. Bottling – taking your large batch and putting it into individual bottles for further aging and future drinking and gifting.

Since I am renewing my interest and it is late in the year making fruit difficult to gather I decided I was going to make a few different kits over the course of the winter.  Keep in mind that wines, particularly the reds will need a bit of time to age and may not be ready for consumption for many months after you bottle them. You also want to keep in mind that the fermentation of the batches can take varying amounts of time based on many variables.  Don’t try to rush the process!

Over the next few posts I will take you through my experiences with a couple different wine kits… step by step.  My next post will be on Getting Ready – A Wine Makers Equipment.

Image by Geodog via Flickr

As many of you are aware, I am currently a project manager for a software company.  My job specifically has me managing implementation and migration projects.  I have been doing this for a number of years, enough in fact that I have another of the requirements to taking the PMP (Project Management Professional) exam under my belt. 

The PMI (Project Management Institute) is a non-profit organization started in 1969 by project management professionals with a goal of “advancing the practice, science, and profession of project management throughout the world in a conscientious and proactive manner…”  Through the years the PMI has created a set of project quality standards that are published in their definitive guide – the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). The PMBOK guide is now widely regarded by organizations throughout the world as the “industry standard” in project management.  The PMP certification, which is administered by the PMI, assures that project management professionals understand the project quality standards, adhere to a code of ethics, and embark on a continuing journey of learning and participation in the project management community.

To qualify to take the PMP exam you have to have demonstrated project management experience.  For those holding a Bachelor’s Degree this is 3 years (4500 hours) of project management experience.  For those with a high school diploma it is 5 years (7500 hours) .    You must also complete 35 contact hours of PMP instruction from a company, institution or facility that is registered with the PMI.

Since I have my Bachelor’s degree, and I have more than 3 years of project management experience I decided it was time for me to get those initials after my name.  To do that I needed 35 contact hours of training.

I had researched this a couple times in the past and let me tell you there are myriads of opportunities available.  Just do a Google search for PMP Education and be overwhelmed by the over 3 million results.  As I began reviewing the options I became very cognizant of the costs and since this is a non-company funded activity it became a primary concern.  (The exam itself is not an inexpensive endeavor.)  Costs ranged from thousands down to hundreds.  I had almost settled into a local university offering which would have been about $1800.00 when I decided I would Twitter and ask if anyone knew of anything that was available online.  

It wasn’t long and I got a reply from Cornelius Fichtner pointing me to his PM-PrepCast.  This was an interesting approach that I hadn’t even considered.  A podcast that provides me with the supplementary instruction material required by the PMI.  I read through the content of the site and decided that for $49.99 it was probably worth investigating.   I was even happier to learn that if I wasn’t satisfied he would provide me with a refund. 

I listened to the couple of examples he had on the website because I was a bit concerned about being able to keep my interest.  (I know in reading the PMBOK that if you are having trouble sleeping all you really need to do is open up the guide and you will be sound asleep in a matter of minutes.)  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Cornelius has a very pleasant accent and the podcast was actually not too bad.  I signed up yesterday.   Certainly the price is right.  I don’t know of another way to get 35 contact hours for 50 bucks. 

(Shameless plug:  If you are reading this and you are interested click on the PM-PrepCast link or the image above.  His company pays referrals/commission if you sign up using my link. – You can also get 1 of your own.)

I look forward to this journey and I will keep you updated with periodic posts of my progress.  I have until the end of June to complete the exam using the 3rd edition of the PMBOK.  The 4th edition was released in December and the test will be modified for this edition after June 30th.  So with PMBOK in hand I am off to listen to a couple of podcasts.

This year, if you have some big changes you’d like to make in your life, get serious about making and keeping your New Year’s resolutions.  First things first, you have to identify what resolutions you want to make, and why. Do you want to save more money? Or spend more time with your kids? Or stop getting so stressed out about your job? Maybe you want to be a better listener overall, or perhaps to be less cynical, or maybe to be less of a pushover. Regardless of what your goal(s) may be, identifying them is the first step to successful resolution making.

Once you’ve identified your goal(s), make an itemized list, and include an explanation as to why you want to end, begin, or modify these behaviors. Do they get in the way of your day? Are they causing your health to deteriorate? Or maybe they just make you feel bad? Identify what the core problem is and explain it as clearly as possible, so when you’re working on actually implementing the changes in your life, you’ll have something to look back on and use as encouragement reminding you why you made the resolution in the first place.

Once you’ve got your list of resolutions all worked out, make a plan to implement them in your life. If one of your goals is to exercise more, join a gym, or schedule an hour before or after work for yourself to get a fitness regimen into your routine. If you’re resolutions include quitting smoking, buy nicotine patches, gum, or other tools to make it easier on yourself. In short, you want to equip yourself with whatever you’ll need to achieve your goals and stick to your resolutions.

Finally, devise a reward and/or punishment system to help you stay on track. Most anything will work (but be careful not to choose a reward that will impede your efforts, like, “Every day I work out, I can have a milkshake” rewards like that are counterproductive at best), so think of treats you enjoy, like a weekly lunch out with friends, or a night out, and use it to reward yourself for sticking to and accomplishing your goals. Set a reward schedule to keep track and determine whether or not you’ve earned your reward. Continuing with the example of exercising more as a resolution, let’s say you set a goal of working out four times a week. Keep track on a calendar, and if you stick to the schedule for two weeks straight, reward yourself. This system can be modified to fit almost any resolution(s) you set of course, you have to be honest, or the system won’t work.

Regardless of what you resolve to change, improve, or modify about your life, this year, commit to actually making it happen.

About the Author

Ki works as a realtor in Austin Texas. Their site provides information about Austin Texas real estate. They also have a site about a search of the Austin MLS along with information about current mortgage rates.

Auctiva eCommerce, slated to launch in January is tagged as the eCommerce that works for everyone. 

Features are quite extensive and after years of experience with online shopping we can only hope that they would get it right the first time.   Some of the extensive features list includes:
    Store Setup Wizards
    Product and Image Import
    Real-time Inventory Display
    Automated Emails to Customer and Store Owner
    Flexible Shipping Options Including Weight, and Number of Items
    SSL Enabled
    Flexible Payment Options including Real-time Credit Card Processing
    Promotion Management With Start and End Dates
    Quantity Break Pricing
    Comprehensive Order Management Module
    Automatic Store Manager Notification of Low Inventory Levels
    Complete Reporting Module

The feature list is quite extensive and goes well beyond what I have included above.

My only concern from what I have seen in all of their marketing materials is the pricing model.  At the time of this writing they were promoting a price of $9.95 which is reduced from their normal monthly price of $14.95.  These seemed quite reasonable but then in reading the additional details on the pricing page I was a little disappointed to see that they are also going to take a percentage of all of the sales from your site.  5% to start gradually reducing to .5% if you sell over $100,000 in a month.  

Since I have stopped selling on eBay, my use of Auctiva at this point is zero.   I may decide to look at their eCommerce option in January.  If you have a business online I would encourage you to check it out.  Let us know your thoughts.   Does this type of offering fit into your business plans?

Each month we cringe when we see our electric bill.  You can do a few simple things that could save you big money each month.  Another benefit to lowering energy usage is it helps promote the planet by not wasting resources.  Here is a list of ten things you can do every day to bring down that bill.

1.      Turn off lights that you are not using.

It only takes about two minutes to walk through your house and turn off lights that no one is using.  The average bulb uses an estimated 20 watts.  When your old bulbs burn out, try replacing them with the new energy efficient bulbs.  They last much longer, from 3-5 years with average use, and the savings really add up.

2.      Run your automatic dishwasher when it is completely full.

Make sure your dishwasher is completely full.  Running a half full dishwasher is wasting energy and water.  Don’t use the automatic dryer, let your dishes air dry.  This saves a lot of money in the long run.

3.      If the temperature is nice outside, open your windows

Give you’re A/C or heater a break!  Open those windows and let the fresh air inside!  If you do this as much as possible, you are sure to see a difference in your electric bill.

4.      Change you’re A/C filter once a month.

If the filter is clogged with dust, it makes the A/C work harder, costing you more money!  An average filter costs just a few bucks to replace; doing so can save you some bucks as well.

5.      If you live in a mobile home, put skirting around the bottom.

This will help keep your home warm in the winter, using less heat, and cooler in the summer.

6.      Keep curtains/blinds closed during the day.

On those hot summer days when it’s a bit too warm outside to open the windows, keep the hot sun out by closing the blinds.  It will take less energy to cool your home.  Also try using ceiling fans.  They use little energy and can help cool rooms down.  Most have reversible motors, so during winter you push warm air back down.

7.  Replace weather stripping on windows and doors.

This keeps that hot or cold air from blasting through, keeping your home at a comfortable temperature.

7.      Keep your thermostat set at a higher/lower setting when you are not home.

When you are away for the day, keep your thermostat set at about 80 for warm climates, and about 65 for cooler climates.  Your home stays at a comfortable temperature without costing an arm and a leg!

8.      Turn off your computer monitor when not in use.

If you’re not surfing, no need to leave that monitor on.  If you have more than one computer, turn off the one you use the least.

9.      Turn off your television when not in use.

Just like the computer monitor, if you’re not watching T.V. it’s just wasting electricity!

10.     Try washing clothes in cold water instead of hot water.

You’re saving energy by using cold water and your clothes still get nice and clean!  Also try drying them on a cooler setting.  If you can, hang your clothes outside.  Not only are you saving energy, you also have the sweet smell of line dried clothes! With just a few simple changes, anyone can cut their energy bill.  Not only are you saving money, you are helping the environment.

About the Author

Jill works with inside real estate. They have sites focusing on El Paso Real Estate and Dallas real estate.

Use the email traffic reduction tips below to combat spam and carbon copy bloat and secure the sanctity of the inbox.

1. Maintain multiple email addresses.

Set up personal and public email account(s) in addition to work email. Use the personal account for friends and family and the public account for online shopping, newsletters, etc.. Never give out the work address for non-work related reasons.

2. Don’t post an email address in public places.

Marketing companies harvest email from public places on the net. Refrain from posting an address on websites, in newsletters, or in email groups to avoid identification by these companies. When posting is inevitable, use the public email address.

Read more via ClearContext Corporate Blog: Top 5 Ways to Reduce Email Traffic.

1. Send Less Receive Less
2. Say Less to Say More
3. Sort Email Using the 80/20 Rule
4. Ask to Opt Out of Some Lists
5. Manage your Email Time Explicitly
6. Put the Burden on Them
7. When in Doubt – Save!

I do many of these today and let me tell you from an experience standpoint #1 and #5 have been huge in getting through the piles of email that I receive.

Take a look at his posting and if you’ve got other ideas and advice to offer I would love to hear it!

Did you know that only 29% of IT projects are ever completed successfully?  When I read the article The 14 Most Common Project Management Mistakes at Network World’s website I couldn’t help but identify with some of my past projects that went seriously amiss.   Some of the mistakes…

• IT doesn’t follow a standard, repeatable project management process.
• IT gets hamstrung by too much process
• Don’t track changes to the scope of the project
• Ignore problems
• Fail to recognize dependencies between projects
• Incomplete scheduling
• They don’t communicate well

There are 7 other and the nice thing about this article is that it provides some clear and concise solutions that you can consider.

Check it out… I know it was a bit of an eye opener for me.