Salzburg was absolutely wonderful and it absolutely added to our memorable holiday.  Unlike German and other Austrian cities, Salzburg was largely spared large scale destruction.  Thank goodness, the city has building dating to the fourteenth century, not to mention that it is the birthplace of Mozart.

Prior to arriving I had arranged a city tour with Salzburg Sightseeing Tours, which was a good choice.  We learned and saw so much on this tour.  We also learned that the tour could have been called the Sound of Music and Hapsburg tour.  The tour was very good with a good mix of coach and walking.  Interestingly, the tour operator offers a "Sound of Music" tour, but we thought could there be more.  For a while we thought that we were on the "Sound of Music" as our tour guide repeated mentioned that "this building/palace/castle was in the movie.

Visiting all the site that belonged to the Hapsburg makes me want to be one.

In addition to the "Sound of Music" and Hapsburg presence, Salzburg is abundant with beautiful gardens and statues.  And if you visit Salzburg, you have to visit the churches and monastery and the castle.  While we were only there one day, it's probably a two day visit if you just want to sample what the city has to offer ... which is much.

Choose the good ones? Impossible. Even cute old Mr. Stay Puft destroyed half of New York.

From the ladies room at King's Hardware - Ballard, WA.

Randy passed away today. He was 47. Describing him as brave is an understatement. No matter what you are doing, drop everything and watch the video below. It is an hour of your life that will live with you forever.

Lord have mercy for Randy and his family.

There are a quite a large number of metrics that can be generated from a single project that could end up in a status report (I'll dig into details in a subsequent post). As the head of Onboard Informatics' Project Management Office (PMO), I am responsible for developing reporting and measurement standards for ALL projects. There are just too few hours in the day to maintain all those measurements and reports! I needed a guideline for our group to limit metrics development and maintenance effort but report status accurately. The metric rule of minimums seemed to fit the bill.

Metrics development is an organic process. A large pool of candidate metrics are developed and then from there you can whittle down the list significantly. Ideally, the final list should be fairly limited, only including the "right" numbers which depends on the activity at hand. This is followed by actual measurements in the field. The team can start early on identifying the metrics that correlate best with the state of the project. There is no reason to wait until the activity is fully over. If the team feels that metrics do not reflect the state of the work effort, then they can brainstorm other metrics based upon the perceived gap. Or they can revisit the original "large" metrics pool for other candiates. If the team feels an original metric is adding little value over time, then it can eventually be dropped.

No matter what type of work you have on your plate, you should identify the absolute fewest possible metrics to give managers and stakeholders an accurate state of the universe. Good, bad or ugly... metrics should reflect reality; otherwise, the effort to produce them is a waste of time. Worse still, if the "right" metric is missing, there is substantive risk that a project may come off its tracks without warning!

The "metrics rule of minimums" provides the following key benefits:

1. Rapid Communication of Status - due to limited number of data points.
2. Accurate Communication of Status - due to the "right" set of data points.

Frankly, if you have a history of trust between you and your manager, and your work is steady and predictable, then there may only be one simple Boolean metric required: "Is work on track - Yes or No". If only it were that simple...

By the way... this cannot be an original concept. That said, I distilled this little gem out of readings, web searches and some painful thinking. If anyone finds other references, please post a response. Thank you

I realize that you have a really cool name for your store. And you probably made a really great logo to go with it. There are a lot of creative people in Second Life. In fact, I know you make great things because I am a customer, I have bought your wares. So now it's your turn to help me just a bit more. While you may have a groovy name, like "PsychoChixNaughtyThings", you also realize that you cannot fit that into the name of your item, so you abbreviate it with "PCNT". That is great. And the majority of sellers have learned to prefix their store name to their sales item. Again, that is fab. That means that all of my PCNT items will be grouped together and organized wonderfully. I *love* that, and I thank you all who use this. There are still some stores which postfix their name to the item. Why? WHYYY? This means, in my world of inventory, that your item is quickly lost and jumbled amongst other things and terribly difficult to find.

You're asking me "Why?" back? Well ok, I'll explain. You see, if you make your wares for PCNT, and you have made a great top called "Fo Shizzle Toppins", a skirt called, "Masstaculous", and a sweet belt you call "Utilize THIS", well that's all grand. But do I remember those names? Probably not. What I *do* remember is PCNT. And I scroll my inventory to find the PCNT items. But wait, they're not there because the name of the store is on back-side of the item name. That means my top, skirt, and belt are all mixed in with my Shiny Shoes, Pushbutton clothes, Refuge tops, and Nyte dresses! But if you had prefixed your items, I'd find them in an instant! I know where to scroll.

Again, I already said that most designers are already prefixing their names. That is great, and I thank you. But there is another thing that most designers are doing, which I do NOT like, and plead with you to change. And that is to decorate your name in its prefix. Instead of "PNCT", we have ".-=::PCNT::=-.". Yes, I realize that looks pretty in it's little ASCII art. But what that does is *completely* disorganizes ones inventory. Why bother alphabetizing when every seller has made sure that their inventory items will be unalphabetized? My inventory has a list of folders that have all special-character free named items sorted wonderfully, then a whole range of items prefixed with ":", "::", "--", "-=*", "***", etc. You get the point, I'm sure. What happens is that I can't find my PCNT stuff because it's not down with the Ps. It's not even in the first batch of Ps prefixed with asterisks. It's in this mish-mash of unorganized folders, which I have to hunt to find. It also means that I will often forget about your stuff because I have lost track of it in my 20K+ number of items in my inventory. What I'm getting at is that you've made the sale, help me to organize, please. The special character prefix is not necessary. Did you name it that way to pop it to the top of ones inventory? I hope not. I assume for most that it was just a stylistic thing. Now I just request that you remove those special characters.

After I make a purchase now, I rename my folders, and it's becoming a pain. Plus I have 12,000 other folders from older purchases that I hadn't renamed simply because I didn't realize this was going to be a problem. Which also means that I again have items that no longer group together. I can deal with it, but I'd rather fix the problem now than continue as things are.

So there you have it. That wasn't so bad, right? Of course not. And it made sense, didn't it? I hope so. And, honestly, you don't even have to rename your individual items, at least in my case. I just want the selling prim renamed so that when it creates a folder in my inventory, it's named something reasonable.

Thank you!

I came across this bullet-point on a security vendor's* helpful tips & advice page. I was looking at Internet Safety tips for parents sites, as part of my relentless pursuit of bringing you, Dear Reader, the best gosh-durn information possible. ('Cause that's the kinda guy I am.) That particular point was #10 on a 10 Things Parents Should Do list.
It's a good bullet-point. Agreed?

Not to get too far off the topic here, but how are parents supposed to do that when they themselves haven't learned it? People believe what they see in print.. and what the CBS Evening News tells them.

Okay.. I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about people. Them. All those other cars on the freeway. They believe it because they read it in their local paper, or saw it on TV. Or.. CNN.  Or they "Googled it".
And those things never lie.
Right?

[The media are businesses. Businesses need to make profits. Headlines sell papers. Fear makes headlines. Add it all up and you get-- The Media is in the business of profiting from your fears.]

How many lies, distortions, or "misreporting's" have you found in print or seen on TV as you've traveled down life's path? One? Two? Each and every day?

Here's the Truth: The Internet is the worst possible source of information because any-old nutcase with a computer can publish there (like I am doing right now) AND it is the best possible source of information because any-old nutcase with a computer can publish -- without government interference, unmotivated by profit, and "say it as he sees it" (like I am doing right now).
A confusing dichotomy.

A confusing dichotomy I urge you to always remember.. and to tell your kids about... that should make for an interesting conversation!

Tip of the day: Don't be ignorant of the dangers of the Internet. Educate yourself and your friends and your kids about online predators, identity-stealing spyware, and phishing e-mails, and take steps to get protected. (A good way to do that is to become one of this site's regular readers. To make it easy, click on the orange "feed" icon, or "Bookmark" me.)

* The advice page referred to is at Webroot's (SpySweeper) Website. Their advice page is here. It has four main categories: Internet Dangers, Online Activities, Threats, and Resources.
Of course, modestly sprinkled in with all the free advice is urgings to buy their product (which is OK, SpySweeper is consistently in the Top 3) which you are free to ignore. There is some really good information there, and it's bullet-point easy to read. It is Today's free link.

If you have a computer in your home, and you have a child in your home, you might also want to take a look at my other Internet+Kids related articles. Clicking this link will produce a page with all my past articles that are 'tagged' with those keywords. My special page on safety advice is here.

Did you miss my Top 10 list? Click here for my Top 10 Things You Should Do To Your Computer.

TGIF!

*Original posting 3/26/08

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Yeah you!  The woman who isn't good enough, the woman who has to worry every night about making the right decisions looking good for that man who never notices KNOCK IT OFF!!

Regardless of the persona of Biff on DoucheCast the real me has a heart and cares about all the women in the world.  It actually sickens me to see the things that happen to women who are perfectly capable of doing fine on their own but refuse to accept the fact that maybe they would be better off on their own.  Why do people do this?  Why do people settle for something they aren't completely happy with?  Is it really because you are that afraid to be alone?  You know you are worth more right?

You know that at the end of the day you have more to give to this world than any self-obsessed man will ever even consider giving.  Don't you?

Why, everyday and everytime I talk to a woman they are unhappy in the relationship they are in.  Well I take that back one time I talked to a lady who was in a happy relationship.  But that is true only one time in the many times I have talked to different women.  As a fat dude I encounter the friend zone quite often so women are always quite at ease telling me their deepest darkest secrets and everytime I listen and am like WOW you really do have issues.

Let me be non manly here for a minute or two ok... thanks.  What it is is that you women ALL OF YOU WOMEN are GOOD ENOUGH.  Regardless of what you think you are good enough.  You do not have to settle you do not have to give up your morals for that one guy just because you think its all you can have.

You are a beautiful, creative, inspirational, and overall great person to be around so wake up and deal with it.  Deal with the fact that a woman on her own is 20 times more powerful than a woman held back by some half-ass slacker man. 

So be thankful and be proud because you offend people like me.  People like me cant understand how you can settle for someone like that.

Let me ask you a question?  Have you ever considered why women, out of all the things they settle for a fat guy is pretty much the last thing?

A guy can be a pot smoker and oh well he is forgiven thats something he will grow out of.  Even though he has went through relationship after relationship because he won't ever give it up for the woman.

A guy can be an abusive man and women will date him because he a tough guy that just needs to be taught how to love and be loved.  OH ITS SO ADORABLE!

A guy can be an out right pig that talks down to every woman he talks to but women think its cute.

I TOTALLY DONT GET IT!!

I understand that I am fat and that is my own doing and no I dont hate myself for being fat I am quite thankful as every woman that has denied me because of my weight has made me realize many things the most important one being that all woman are created equal!

All women do not realize what they are worth.  All women refuse to wake up and accept that they have so much to give, live, and love but will never open their minds up far enough to see the future. 

I just want to tell all women to WAKE UP, stop accepting now as being good enough and track down that one thing that is perfect for you.  Even if that requires batting for the home team.  DO IT.  Happiness is so much easier to deal with then misery.  I can't remember the last time I heard someone complain about being too happy today.

If every relationship you take on you learn something from than that is great.  Yet, if you are the woman who keeps going after the same type of guy everytime then you need to stop.  Stop what you are doing cause its about to ruin...
the fact that you are better than this.

The greatest part about all of this is the fact that every word I typed here will be completely ignored because trust me I know even if I was standing here yelling this to someone who was in need of hearing it they would not be able to.  Cause the truth is you realize you are good enough as you are you just refuse to take any action to be better than you are.

Your friend in writing,

Biff

1. Typing Fast Typing Tutor – This program is a great way to build keyboarding skills. It starts at a very basic level and gradually works its way up. You will be given a breakdown of your accuracy and speed at the end of each lesson. There’s also a game for those who enjoy that sort of thing. The program is a product of the open source community which means it’s absolutely free.

Click Here to Download

2. Mouse Exercises @ SeniorsNet.org – Anyone that finds certain aspects of using a computer mouse difficult should visit this website and run through their exercises. It’s a quick and easy way to get used to the mouse that requires no download whatsoever.

Click Here to Visit Mouse Exercises @ SeniorsNet.org

When asked what kind of advice he would offer a person aspiring to get into the horse business, Williams responded, “When you get to the point that you know it all…what you learn after that is what counts.”

We have a law to secure loads for good reason.  If you don't secure your mothf***ing load, your sh*t will fly out and cause damage, injury, or death.  All because you are too f***ing lazy to tie your sh*t down.

This morning I was on my way to work when a white bucket flew out of someone's truck a couple cars ahead of me.  It looked like it was rolling over to the side and out of my way, but a semi drove by and the wind knocked it straight in front of my car and i hit at about 40 mph...  I hit it twice, first time it bounced back in front of me and then came back for round two.  It was a 5 gallon bucket versus a 3300 pound car... guess who won?

At least I won this battle.  I'm sure there was an accident shortly after as I looked in my rear view mirror and saw cars swerving to miss it.  So, I called the department of transportation to advise of a "cleanup" need.

Luckily, my fate wasn't like either of the links I provided above, but I did get some scuffs.  They look like they'll buff out, so this still ended well at least.  Just frustrating as hell.

I'll say it again... secure your motherf***ing load!!!!

That isn't to say it's bad advice. Most of it is really good and useful to know, but it's simply not applicable. Knowing the differences between an open question and a closed question is great and all, especially if you are writing interview questions, but they won't help you in the middle of a conversation.

Other advice is too general to be immediately useful. For example: be yourself. Sorry, but if you are looking for social advice, you probably either don't like yourself, don't want to be in social situations or don't know yourself well enough to apply this advice. It's still good advice, but it's not specific enough to be used in most situations.

What most people seeking advice on social interaction need is quick specific tips that can be done on the fly, in the middle of an interaction or even right before for preparation. Therefore, the solution to improving social interaction is nothing big and great, but rather something simple and applicable.

Simple and Applicable

Right off the bat, remember that these tips are not going to completely turn around your entire social life. Rather, they have the potential to turn around an entire interaction, an entire conversation. Read them well and read them carefully and consider giving one a try next time you're in an uncomfortable social situation. Here they are:

1. Stop caring - my top guess is that you probably don't even know the person you are interacting with; that's why you're uncomfortable, right? Well, just stop. You don't even know this person; why in the world would you care what they say about you? Oh right, maybe they'll go tell others that you're weird or creepy or something, but you know what? What kind of person goes around talking about someone behind their back like that? Do you really care what that kind of jerk thinks about you? Better not.

2. "Man, you just need to relax." - The first time I went to meet a girl's dad, I was a little nervous. Her friends had spent the last week telling me horror stories about him and when I finally was there, I was simply scared out of my wits. Interestingly, it turned out to be one of the best conversations I've ever had about myself and provided me with new insight and ideas about who I am.

When I arrived, I was scared, nervous and could barely manage to make conversation. He invited me to sit in a large reclining armchair and my whole body was tight with tension. My legs were together, my hands were in my lap and my breathing was in my chest. His words to me? "Man, you just need to relax. Lean back, spread out. Nervously, I tried, but he wasn't fooled, "Just relax, man."

By the time my girl arrived from work half an hour later, we were laughing together and having a blast. Why? Because I wasn't worried anymore; I'd simply relaxed and that's all it took.

3. Be straightforward - I hate following up that last one with another girl story, but this is probably the best tip I have to give you.

In high school, a girl and I were great friends. We'd been friends for years, we got along great, we'd help each other with everything; from every view but mine, it looked like a perfect friendship. You see, I started falling for her about four years into the friendship (and at that point, I was practically her brother). At that point, I had no idea how to proceed to let her know how I felt. So what did I do?

I took her out to lunch, manned up the courage and let her have it. I had planned to say, "So here's the deal: I really like you a lot, as more than friends and I'd like to know how you feel about that," which is about as straightforward as you can get, but instead I ended up saying something like, "So, there's this girl and she's been driving me crazy and she's you." See, even though what I had planned didn't work out, I managed to retain the straightforward approach and you know what? It worked.

So be straightforward, don't beat around the bush. Let them know precisely what you want and how you want it. It sounds tough, but is so relaxing once you get the words out. It'll take all the stress of the conversation and throw it away from you. Really give this one a shot; even if it fails, it's totally worth the story.

4. Be persistent - Hang out with people who have the sort of social skills you want to have. You're going to feel like a total loser, trust me. But it'll be worth it, because soon they'll rub off on you and accept you as one of their own. It'll happen sooner and cooler than you think. For best results, use this tip in concert with...

5. Imitate others - While you're busy being with the people you admire, watch what they do and how they act. Then do it yourself. One of the things you'll notice is that this will drastically improve your interactions around everyone else you interact with.

6. Lead - Take the initiative! When conversation lulls, say something. When you don't know someone, introduce yourself. When volunteers are requested, stand up. By stepping forward and putting yourself in the spotlight, you are placing yourself in a position to be admired. Extra tip: next time you go to the grocery store, beat the cashier to the punch: ask them how their day is going before they can ask you!

7. Do your best, then forget about it - Never, never, NEVER beat yourself up over a bad conversation. We all think of something better to have said or to have done twenty minutes after the opportunity is gone. Don't worry about it. Another opportunity will come, so focus on doing your best next time and forget about any mistakes you may have made in the past. Think of it as a learning experience and things will go better next time.

8. Be honest - So what if you're the only one without a crazy vacation story! That's no reason to make one up. To begin with, it's really hard to make up realistic stories and if you overdo it, people will be able to tell. It's just way too risky; don't do it. Besides, you'll feel better too.

9. Contribute - If you do nothing but listen, you and your partner will both leave the conversation feeling shortchanged. So tell a story or give an explanation or do something for your half of the conversation responsibility.

10. Speak up - Very simple: talk louder. When you speak, the point of projection shouldn't be at the back of your mouth; it shouldn't be in your head at all. In fact, you should be projecting from either your chest or the base of your neck. Feeling your point of projection will come with practice, but for now just try to feel where your words are coming from. That's your projection point. Maybe even ask a friend who sings to help you sing. Extra tip: take an acting class; you'll learn how to project your voice on stage and also learn some improv tips.

11. Smile - Open up and smile.  Grin your head off.  If there is nothing to smile at, make something worth smiling at.  Smile, smile, smile!

These eleven tips are simple, easy to remember and will definitely help you in the middle of a conversation.  Remember that these tips are not designed to completely turn around your entire social life.  That takes time and effort, but these will get you started on the right path and will even help you make significant progress.  So next time you're feeling a little uncomfortable, give one of these a shot!

First of all.... you are in a profession that makes you well known. People are going to notice you and are going to try and take your picture and take your autograph. Duh! If you don't like it, then why in the heck are you "famous". Leave all your work that includes public speaking and acting and this and that.  I don't want to hear from you anymore.

That is the problem. As much as these folk hate professional photographers (sorry folks that is what they are), They sure do a lot to get themselves out there. You can not have your cake and eat it too. Meaning... you can not want your photo and the hype some of the time and then say... stop! I don't want it just now. Please.

So you both have put your self in the spotlight. Now you have babies. Think about it people. How many times do your relatives have babies and everyone wants to see it and hold it and all this and that. How can that be different from famous people? And you create more hype by selling (whoring?) yourself out to a magazine for tons/millions of dollars. I would just have walked out of the hospital and held up the babies Lion King style and had been done with it.

And on a side note... 5 kids? I know some are adopted, but give me a break. Someone needs to teach them birth control or tie Brad's tubes. That is waaaaay too many children for a family. I don't care if you can afford them or not. Life expectancy is much higher, they are not needed in the fields, and more than a couple children is just plain extravagant in a very negative way. Too much of the conspicuous consumption model. Not a very good example to be setting.

So remember.... if you put your self out there, people will want to see you, talk with you, and take pictures of you. Even on a micro level. Hell... as a teacher... students want pictures with me, they see me somewhere and have to say hi, and I sign countless numbers of yearbooks. Some from students I have never had and just "know" me. It is silly, but if I want to stay in this profession, I get used to it. You movie stars should too!

I will gladly take your place.

Love, lust, infatuation, crush? What’s the difference…really? I’ve been thinking about this one after one of my friends announced that her new (as in a few dates) boyfriend had declared his love for her. Silence and skepticism and shifting eyes met her announcement. Finally one of us just had to step up and say, “That’s just bull s*%#. You are awesome and we know that but HE doesn’t even KNOW you!”

I’ll admit, most of us probably agreed with her, but is our straight shooting friend right?

Granted, its all individual because who can really tell what’s in someone else’s heart? That aside, I did some research and this is what I could best come up with:

‘Lust (or infatuation) is all about how YOU make ME feel. It’s inherently selfish in that it’s about getting instead of giving. Love is the opposite. It’s about giving instead of being focused on what you are getting.’ 

We’ve all heard someone come back from a first or second date saying “I really like him/her — she makes me feel great about myself!” It makes sense - it’s the beginning stages of infatuation/lust that keeps you going back for more. So when does it turn into love and can you tell the difference?

I’ll admit, one of my favorite things to see is an old, old ,old (like Methuselah old) couple still holding hands and looking at each other like no one could be more beautiful to them — in spite of wrinkles and humps and limps and years of life together. To me, that speaks of a life-time of love. (It’s hard to see that now-a-days, but when you encounter it, it makes you think that true love does exist!)

The feeling of wanting to give everything you have for someone, weather its physical, emotional, or spiritual, is when you can sit back, and say, ‘Wow, I want THEM to feel/be happy, I WANT to give them that feeling,’ that’s when you know it’s gone to the next level, and you may still desire them, and want them but you also have gone to the next emotion to provide for them as well.

Does this only become apparent when the feelings are mutual? Or can love only be one sided? When does it become an obsession with no escape? I feel that it has to take two to really understand and feel what each other need, and can provide. With that the generosity fulfills and you both are now working together as a whole. That’s when you know you’ve met your mate.

I’m sure this topic will come back around since there is so much more to be said, but what do you think… How can you tell if it’s lust or love?

We loved the Pizza Angel silly song, and adored the Minnesota Cuke storyline, which correlates so wonderfully with the Indiana Jones movies, somehow managing to fit in bits and pieces from all three movies with ease in 20 minutes. There was one small thing about this 1 hour disc on dealing with bullies that I didn't love though, and I'd love your feedback on this.

The Veggie Tales approved method for dealing with bullies, is apparently, to simply allow bullies to pummel you, and do nothing - I get not condoning violence - and I get standing up to bullies and letting them know you don't fear them - I truly, truly do. But I don't get "turning the cheek" and letting someone beat you to a pulp and doing nothing - nothing, really? They can't even learn to defend themselves? They should simply "trust in god?" the invisible somebody to take care of it for them - I don't think this should be how people see God - as some invisible force that will solve all their problems - I think there is a lot to be said for solving your own problems.

I am not saying Junior Sparagus should be fighting these bullies and picking fights of his own - I'm not saying he should seek revenge which is something I don't believe in. I'm saying he should block a punch or two, and try to keep himself from black and blue futures - he shouldn't allow himself to be stuffed into lockers and he shouldn't simply "turn his cheek" - that just seems foolish.

Everything else I'm fine with - I'm fine with loving our enemies - I get that those enemies are likely hurting somewhere inside themselves and it's likey why they are bullies - I think talking out your problems first is sensible and smart - but taking a beating and not defending yourself just seems dumb to me. Sorry to anyone who disagrees.

I've always thought Junior was just asking for a beating with some of his other actions, but I expected he'd at least learn to defend himself. Seriously.

Of course, anyone going into practice today needs to look at all of the available options in terms of record-keeping. Right now there are two basic ways to keep your files and records: electronically and paper. They have their pros and cons, and electronic records are more complicated, require a safe network for HIPAA, require constant backups and remote backups for the event of an office or computer disaster (which will happen at some point), etc. But, the trend in insurance is that the standard is switching to EMR (electronic medical records), so it behooves you to really look at all the options for EMR that are out there. You can spend a lot of money on a software system for your office, so make sure you do all your homework and settle on something that works, is user-friendly, does what it is supposed to do, is well-supported, and meets all of the privacy standards being set forth by Medicare.

Most of these systems utilize a tablet PC or a PalmPilot type of device that you use while working with your patient. There are check boxes, pull down menus, etc that once you are really familiar with the system save you a lot of time. The software can generally spit out all sorts of narratives and other reports as needed for insurance and file audit purposes, too, but you do have to be careful about "canned" reports as the insurance companies can spot them from a mile away and, while not illegal or unethical, can create some unneeded problems for you. 

Your best bet is to attend a large state or national convention and really spend some time in the expo area. Those guys are there to make sales, so make sure they take you through every aspect of the program and how it all works, and discusses all of the costs (there are startup and yearly maintenance fees, too, that can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars) with you. Take your own notes on your likes and dislikes because at a large convention there could be 25+ software vendors there. Be sure to ask about national standards and if they meet them, what updates and upgrades cost, etc.

Also, go online and Google search "EMR chiropractic" and see all the possibilities. Watch the demos and contact the companies for more information (they usually don't have pricing right on the webpage, unfortunately). There is only one Mac-native software I am aware of (MacPractice), which looks phenomenal, but is very expensive, but don't think you have to have a PC for this!

Another alternative for people not ready to jump straight into EMR is to use shorthand when taking histories and recording your SOAP notes, then setting aside time a few times a day to dictate your notes. Dragon Naturally Speaking and MacSpeech are two excellent dictation software packages that allow you to speak your notes instead of write or type them. So, you can transfer your shorthand into speech and let the software "type" it out for you. Then you can save it in the patient's file or print and add it to their paper file. This is a huge time-saver, but ultimately, all records are going to need to be EMR, so this option simply puts off the inevitable.

Also, don't be afraid to look outside of the chiropractic profession at medical options, too. A lot of these systems are built more or less the same way and simply are tailored to one profession or another, but with some changes and some presets changed are frequently totally usable by any health care provider. So, if you don't see the product or the price you are looking for in chiropractic, see what else is out there for medical offices.

My syndication through BrazenCareerist has made me think a lot more about my career path. In part, my vocation (online marketing) did not even exist when I was in college.

How did I get here? And how can I help others find success in their marketing careers?

I posed the following question to my friends in the Wordpress Marketing Bloggers Network (WMBN): "What was the most important lesson that prepared you for your marketing career?" Their replies were insightful, honest, and practical. Here are 5 essential tips to help you on your way to a career in marketing.

I guess I would boil it down to two words: Don't Stop. Don't stop writing, thinking, learning, meeting people, whatever. Once you stop, you're done. Try something new or different and if it doesn't quite work, don't stop, just try it a different way. Marketing is about constantly tweaking, even when it's working.

-Rick Liebling, eyecube

As a creative guy (copywriter), it was sometimes frustrating to see the client change something that I'd worked really hard on. But then a creative director sat me down, explained that my passion was admirable, but it was their money. It's important to state the argument, but if they don't agree, it's their money.

Then, we went for a beer.

-Matt Hames, Share Marketing

There have been so many good lessons along the path of my career that it’s apparent they’ve all contributed to a collective pool of experience that has guided me in hard times, and in good.

Most importantly, I’ve learned from many individuals that I’ve had the pleasure to work with that honesty and trust are the two key values to hold close to long term success. So many times, we’re tempted to tell a client what we think they want to hear, or adjust our standards or timelines to meet their expectations and demands. In the long run, if you’re honest with yourself and your client, and trust that no matter what challenges you face you’ll emerge successful; the circumstances of your relationships won’t dictate you – you will dictate them.

Maintaining your personal and professional integrity, and trusting in your “inner voice” will serve you well in the end.

-Larry DeVincenzi, SmartBrand Blog

[Paul doesn't consider himself a marketer, but rather a journalist. However, I think his advice is still apt.]

From a journalist's point of view, my answer is:

Learn something new every day. One of my former newspaper editors gave me this advice about 6 years into my career. Up to that point I had moving up the career ladder fairly slowly and without much direction. Taking his advice made me realise how much I could learn from the people I worked with, interviewed for articles, photographers I went out on assignments with and above all my family and friends.

It is still a lesson I try hard to put into practice today. I'm comfortable knowing there are gaps in my knowledge - quite big in some cases - but the fun comes in attempting to fill them. No-one knows it all; we can all learn something.

-Paul Groves, Groves Media

And me? It's not necessarily unique to marketing, but the best lesson I learned was when someone told me: "The worst they can tell you is 'No.'"

Once you eliminate this fear of failure - or fear of things beyond failure - you can do most anything. Maybe I was anxious about people liking me or driven by ambition to succeed every single time - I don't know. But whenever I acknowledged that simple failure was the worst option, it got me thinking about every other option that wasn't failure.

What was your most important lesson? Feel free to leave your personal lesson or remark on these ones in the comments section below.

And be sure to check out all of the great content produced by these and other members of the WMBN. You can find a full list in the right-hand column.

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I can't believe that I have chosen to put my thoughts into words while exposing myself to millions of people on the Internet.

I tend to be a more reserved person that doesn't share her personal life with others. I do tell people things about myself but only the details that I want them to know.

Why am I like this?

Because I have learned that sometimes when you confide in others they can use that information against you when you are no longer on good terms.

It's a horrible feeling to have someone you trust violate you in that way.

Some people that will read this blog as it progresses might think that I am a negative person.

I prefer to think of myself as a realistic person.

I don't really worry too much about other peoples opinions because we can't be accepted and loved by everyone.

So why am I doing this as an anonymous writer?

Because I want to finally be able to speak my mind and to share what I am experiencing without holding back.

I decided to write anonymously on the Internet to share my thoughts, experiences and my flaws.

Hopefully, I will meet people that understand where I'm coming from and that are also going through similar experiences.

I also would like to talk to and hear from people that need advice or that need someone to listen to them.

Because we all have problems and we all need someone to just shut up and LISTEN or READ.

Has blogging helped any of you express yourself in ways that you don't normally do off the Internet?